First and foremost, congratulations on this incredible platform and thank you both for the invitation – and also for giving me the answer to this question on a silver platter. Let's get to it. I don’t want this to sound like a bad June 10th speech, but I’ve noticed a curious phenomenon: Portuguese creatives spend a few years abroad and return to stir things up. I would say that our USP is changing slightly. We have ceased to be the jack-of-all-trades that solves briefings, “like someone who fries codfish cakes”, we are evolving into creative people who are no longer willing to do things “just because”. We are creative people that question automated processes, who understand why, in some cases, it works better outside of Portugal (a conversation that goes far beyond budgets), and that when we return we do it to change things, to do differently. The most interesting thing is that it isn’t necessary to work outside of Portugal to be able to do this, an internet connection and being self-critical is enough. You and this platform are excellent examples.

I'm a great admirer of advertising that enters people's lexicon. "Vamos nessa, Vanessa?" I spend my life saying this. My friends hate me. I remember many campaigns, but maybe I'll highlight Yorn's work because it glued me to the TV – ("Insólitos Yorn. Tudo pode acontecer.”) It was weird and different. What Pedro Bidarra did with Optimus and Galp was revolutionary. What Edson Athayde did with Telecel became a shyster repeated at the family lunches. Speaking of more recent campaigns, I must mention "O Idolo" for  Samsung, CO2AT and "Estreia-te" for FOX Comedy. Beautiful ideas in any part of the globe.

Bom... Como vocês sabem, eu e o Gonçalo tivemos um podcast chamado (estou a brincar). Mas a verdade é que conversámos com publicitários incríveis. É difícil não ficar curioso. “Como será trabalhar com esta pessoa?” Destaco o Pedro Magalhães, a Susana Albuquerque, o Marcelo Lourenço, ou a Andreia Ribeiro. É impossível não destacar também o Nuno Jerónimo ou o Miguel Durão (se estás a ler isto, obrigado pelas dicas numa altura em que uma carreira em publicidade era algo impensável para um jovem de Coimbra). Fora de Portugal, destaco o Hugo Veiga ou o João Coutinho, que conseguiram algo incrível – tornar o facto de serem portugueses quase irrelevante. Não se fala deles, pelo menos tanto como se fala dos trabalhos que fizeram.

Well... As you know, Gonçalo and I had a podcast called (I'm kidding). But the truth is, we talked to incredible advertisers. It's hard not to get curious. "What would it be like to work with this person?" I highlight Pedro Magalhães, Susana Albuquerque, Marcelo Lourenço, or Andreia Ribeiro. It's impossible not to highlight Nuno Jerónimo or Miguel Durão (if you're reading this, thanks for the tips at a time when a career in advertising was something unthinkable for a young man from Coimbra). Outside Portugal, I highlight Hugo Veiga or João Coutinho, who have achieved something incredible – making the fact that they are Portuguese almost irrelevant. They don't talk about them, at least as much as they talk about the work they've done.

Speaking of genuinely Portuguese brands, I appreciate Licor Beirão. Having been away for a handful of years, I'm losing my trail, I confess. I'm a fan of pretty much everything Stream and Tough Guy does. I'm a fan of the work O Escritório for Lidl, from Uzina for Samsung and IKEA, from Wunderman Thompson for Vodafone. But, here's the thing: these are foreign brands operating in Portugal. And it must work. Otherwise, we are doomed to adapt campaigns for the rest of our lives.

It isn't easy to choose, but I would like to work with Portuguese wines. There is so much to do. I've got nothing against it, but it brings me sadness to walk into a supermarket in Germany and find only one brand on the shelf: Casal Garcia. It's a problem that certainly goes beyond "branding" or communication – it affects the production itself – but when we see the offer of smaller and impoverished countries abroad, we realize that we are wasting opportunities. Lisbon won't be in fashion forever.

Eu nunca geri uma agência, mas sei de algumas que sobrevivem de trabalho escravo: estagiários não remunerados ou remunerados com “ajudas de custo” (€120/mês). Isto gera um fenómeno deplorável: agências de betos. Se “quem não tem pais ricos vai ao BES”, também não se mete numa profissão em que precisa de trabalhar 2 ou 3 anos, em Lisboa, a troco de amendoins.

Depois: a inefável ideia que existe em Portugal de que produtividade = horas na agência/empresa. Não somos os únicos. O Brasil sofre do mesmo mal, penso que Espanha também. Outros haverá. É preciso falar sobre isto? Menos horas à volta da máquina do café, menos conversas sobre o fim-de-semana, bola, séries, o que for.  8h deviam chegar – e sobrar – para fazer o trabalho que temos em cima da mesa. Se as pessoas não têm tempo para – ou vontade – de viver depois do trabalho estão mortas e ainda não deram conta.


Por último: se um festival que envolve premiação não é competitivo, é irrelevante. Deixa de ser um reconhecimento genuíno da indústria ou um fator diferenciador no portfólio de alguém. É fácil provar isto: quantos “ouros” nacionais são sequer “shortlist” em Cannes, D&AD, Clios, etc.? A conversa de que Cannes é “menos exigente do que há 20 anos” é simplesmente mentira. A barra está lá, sempre esteve e não podemos continuar a fingir que não está.

What would you like to change in the Portuguese ad scene?

I've never run an agency, but I know of some that survive off cheap or modern “slave” labour: unpaid or “subsidised” internships (€120/month). This generates a deplorable phenomenon: “rich kid” agencies. If you don’t have “rich” parents, you can’t afford to work a job for 2 or 3 years, in Lisbon, in exchange for “peanuts”.

In addition, in Portugal exists the indescribable idea that productivity = hours at the agency/company. And this is not exclusive to Portugal. Brazil, Spain, and many others suffer from the same problem. Is it truly necessary to address this? Fewer hours around the coffee machine, fewer conversations about the weekend, football, tv-series, whatever. Eight hours are more than enough – too many, in my opinion – to do the work assigned to us. If people don't have the time – or the will – to live “life”, life after work, they're already dead and haven't figured it out yet.

Finally: if a festival that presents awards is not competitive, it is irrelevant. It ceases to be a genuine industry recognition or a differentiating factor in someone's portfolio. This is easily shown: how many national “golds” are even a “shortlist” in Cannes, D&AD, Clios, etc.? The talk that Cannes is “less demanding than 20 years ago” is simply a lie. The bar is there, it's always been there, and we can't go on pretending it isn't.

Sinceramente, não sei responder. Proponho antes pensarmos sobre o seguinte: se tantos criativos portugueses são capazes de produzir trabalho que brilha no palco global, mas fora de Portugal... Por que razão nem sempre são capazes de o fazer cá? E vêm-me à cabeça dezenas de respostas. Sei que não se produzem boas ideia sem clientes que acreditem em criatividade como solução. Um DC português dizia: “pedem-me campanhas como as do LIDL, mas não percebem que esse trabalho é a soma de vários fatores: uma equipa criativa capaz, um cliente corajoso que confie e não interfira demasiado no processo criativo, na produção, etc. etc. etc.” No outro prato da balança está o fado das networks (“growth, growth, growth”), mas o João Coutinho já falou sobre isso, com uma ligeira diferença em relação a mim: ele sabe do que está a falar.

Honestly, I don't know how to answer this. Instead, I propose that we think about the following: if so many Portuguese creatives can produce work that shines on the global stage, but outside Portugal... Why are they not always able to do it here? And dozens of answers come to mind. I know those good ideas are not produced without clients who believe in creativity as a solution. A Portuguese DC once said: "they ask me for campaigns like LIDL's, but they don't understand that this work is the sum of several factors: a talented creative team, a brave client who trusts and doesn't interfere too much in the creative process, production, etc. . etc. etc." On the other side of the scale is the same old song networks love playing ("growth, growth, growth"), but João Coutinho has already talked about it, with a slight difference: he knows what he's talking about.

I have never worked in a German agency, but working in an international agency in Berlin (which, according to some Germans, is not a city in Germany), I naturally ended up working with creatives, accounts and strategists all over the country. I'm not sure they have a lot to teach us, creatively speaking, but I'm sure we can learn from them in other championships. Intransigence in regards to the work-life balance is one of them. Unlike Latinos, only an email from the CCO  will make them stay after work hours. Taking your laptop home? Only if absolutely needed. The same with the smartphone provided by the agency, which remains on the desk after work. If you work longer hours, something is going wrong: you, the processes, something. It's not natural. I think we're too complacent with this idea of living in the agency, forgetting that we can love our job, but that's just what advertising is – a job. Not to mention the basics: a salary adjusted to the city's standard of living, a contract, public health insurance, food subsidy... Anyways, in Portugal, it seems that we are still talking about "perks". I don't know if we can teach them much either. But if they need to make an omelette without eggs, salt, or even a pan one day, I think they can knock on our door. We have good tips.