"Is it hard to work in advertising being a woman? Sometimes. In Brazil, the advertising industry is dominated by men. I must admit that the outrageous male humor never bothered me. Some other stuff did. There were not that many guys comfortable in teaming up with a girl. There is a joke in Brazil about the outcome of a creative team made by a woman and a man: it ends up in marriage or murder. It’s not impossible to succeed as a woman, but you must be inventive to cross those hurdles.
The path I found to achieve success was by exploring new territories. By having an open mind and a strong heart, I took risks that few Brazilian women (or men) would. Ironically, the most fruitful period of my career happened in a region where gender separation is even stronger than in Brazil: the Middle East.
But how did I end up here? Well, let’s go back to the start.
Besides art direction and craft, I love to come up with ideas. Hence my first portfolio got me a job as an intern copywriter at Leo Burnett in São Paulo. When I told my future boss, the legendary Brazilian creative director Ruy Lindenberg, that I was an art director, he reacted with a mix of surprise and contempt. Nevertheless, he let me work there and soon I got promoted to an Art Assistant.
Leo Burnett was a great school, where I won my first awards. With a strong junior portfolio, I landed my first job abroad at LB in Frankfurt, as an Art Director. I could not speak any German and most of my friends thought I was crazy. I was only 25! I was scared, but at the same time excited. There I found out German agencies are not so different from Brazilian ones. Germans are very much like Brazilians when it comes to advertising: hard-working and passionate about ideas.
One year later, I moved to Berlin (one of my favourite cities, by the way) as a Senior Art Director and opted for working at agencies with clients that aren't so creative-oriented. It wasn’t a good move. I was still young and needed to develop my portfolio. That is when I took a risk for the second time: I decided to take a step back in my career and restart as a junior art director at Jung von Matt Hamburg, one of the most creative German agencies, and work for one of the most successful creative people in Germany, a woman: Doerte Spengler-Ahrens.
After four years at JvM (and seven years in Germany overall), I had a very professional portfolio with ideas for a range of platforms for a range of clients. Nevertheless, I felt I needed a new challenge in my career. To the surprise of my friends, family and colleagues, I accepted an offer to work at Ogilvy in Dubai as Regional Associate Creative Director.
Actually I didn’t have much of a clue how living in Dubai would be. What brought me here was the opportunity to be in a place like Ogilvy, an agency hungry for good ideas, just like me.
Although I’m based in the Dubai office, I work with all regional agencies (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, etc.) and regional clients.
Is it hard to be a woman and work in the Middle East? Not at all. I face great acceptance here. Surprisingly, Jeddah’s office in Saudi Arabia - one of the countries with the highest gender segregation in the world - is the one I have the most freedom and fun to work with. Our idea for IKEA (It’s that affordable) was a great success in Saudi and it was the 5th Most-Awarded OOH-Print campaign in the Gunn Report.
Client: Ikea. Agency: Memac Ogilvy, Dubai. Creative Directors: Paul Shearer, Ramzi Moutran, Attila Nyeki. Art Director: Juliana Paracencio. Copywriter: Luiz-Vicente Simoes, Maya El Kai. Illustrator: Bruno Rodrigo de Miranda. Digital Artist: Bruno Rodrigo de Miranda (Featured in Lürzer’ Archive Vol.4-2016)
Client: Ikea. Agency: Memac Ogilvy, Dubai, Memac Ogilvy, Jeddah, Memac Ogilvy & Mather. Creative Directors: Paul Shearer, Ramzi Moutran, Maher El Baba. Art Director: Juliana Paracencio. Copywriter: Luiz Vicente Simoes. Illustrator: Monica Yuri. Digital Artist: Bruno Rodrigo de Miranda. (Featured in Lürzer’s Archive Vol.2-2017)
Is it difficult to live in Dubai? Quite the opposite: it’s easy and safe – actually safer than a lot of places in Europe. Here you’re exposed to many different cultures (British, Lebanese, French, Pakistani, Indian, German, Brazilian, South African – you name it.) Adapting can be challenging but a lot of fun. I believe great ideas come when you take risks and live new experiences.
Coming back to the question that opened this text: Is it hard to be a woman working in advertising? Well, let’s just say you set your own limitations. And you should take risks and follow the path you wish to follow.
Client: DIY chain Obi. Mach was Draus. Agency: Jung von Matt, Hamburg
Client: Ikea. Agency: MemacOgilvy, Dubai/MemacOgilvy, Jeddah
Client: Volvo. Agency: Memac Ogilvy Doha. Creative Directors: Paul Shearer, Youssef Gadallah, Juliana Paracencio. Art Director: Wissam Feghaly. Copywriters: Elsa de Bruyn, Paul Shearer. Digital Artist: Bruno Rodrigo de Miranda