Courage and Creativity Sparks Conversation and Change: Luiz Sanches, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of AlmapBBDO

We asked our 2020 ANDYs jury their thoughts on what the advertising industry will bring us this year and Luiz Sanches, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of AlmapBBDO shared:

What creative trends do you think you’ll see in 2020?

Brands with the courage to step out of the mainstream. The Burger King approach to attacking the competition will become increasingly common, but it’ll get old fast. So I hope to see more brands bold enough to create things that really get conversations started.

Is the industry moving forward with integrity and authenticity when they show up in places of social good, or is it woke-washing? 

There are two sides to the question. We believe that our work with communications can help people and change behavior, create brands and attitudes. One aspect is that mobilizing social causes creatively is an ethical contribution on the part of communications.

At the same time, social causes have long been one of the great drivers of awards in our industry. When we recognize that awards are an important part of the field, then that adds another layer. Of course, the publicity that our work generates, and perhaps even awards, can drive conversations and move causes forward, helping people out there. But there’s also a part of the industry that’s focused on these sorts of causes as a way for agencies to rack up awards and become more profitable. Social work in and of itself is valid, of course, and creativity can help with that; but if it’s all in the service of the agency itself, that rings ethically hollow. 

How effective is the advertising industry as a narrator and reflector of culture in this moment of time?

The advertising industry has been tasked with reinventing itself. On the one hand, data, for example, without creativity, is worthless. So I think that the industry is reflecting culture in the sense that it’s trying to reinvent itself and realizing that people consume things in a different, non-linear way. 

I think that there’s plenty of room to restructure the way we make an impact. Honestly, this is a normal reaction on the part of society, which has been shaken over the past 10 years like never before. Of course this would be a decade of adaptation to the full potential of technology.  

The ad industry is being reflected in the very moment in which it’s being challenged. Brands, meanwhile, need creativity more than ever before.

Today, while everything is a commodity, brands run the risk of going the same way. The differential lies in the perception of value, which is rooted in creativity and strategy.