Lanfranco & Cordova

Michael Weinzettl touches base with Gian Carlo Lanfranco and Rolando Cordova, Creative Directors of McCann New York, and founders of Creative Collective Lanfranco & Cordova, Lima. 

I first met the team of Gian Carlo Lanfranco and Rolando Cordova, Creative Directors at McCann New York and founders of the creative collective Lanfranco & Cordova, in Lima, Peru during the Lürzer’s Archive 30th anniversary bash at the Art Directors Club in New York. I had already been familiar with their work as previously featured in the pages of Archive, and was fascinated by the stories they had to tell about leaving their native Peru and embarking on a journey that took them to Singapore (Saatchi & Saatchi), Amsterdam (Wieden + Kennedy), Paris (Fred & Farid) and then to New York, where they first worked at Havas. In Vol. 1-2015 I did an interview with them in which the pair revealed a little more about their “hejira” through the world of creative advertising. Having recently seen some new work by them - in cooperation with our top-ranking photographer Ale Burset, I decided to touch base with them to find out how they were doing as well as about new work in store 

Here's their reply:

"Hola Michael, It’s been a while since we have spoken. For the past 11 years, we’ve been exploring the creative world literally. Working for agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi Lima, Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, Fred & Farid, Paris, Havas, New York and now McCann, New York.

New York is a fantastic city, but it takes a time to adjust. We’ve been here for the past 3 years and we are starting to know it better. Everything here happens too fast, especially if you move from places like Paris and Amsterdam, where things are much calmer and the culture is a bit more relaxed. Agencies are a lot different too, in size and culture so you need to adjust and be patient. McCann right now feels really good, it’s a big agency that keeps the creative culture really alive, thanks to the arrival of inspiring creative leaders like Eric Silver and John Mescall.

We personally think the best way to learn and grow is to experience as many different cultures as you can and don’t get stuck in your comfort zone. 

Lima, where we are originally from, is a great city: you have amazing weather, great food, and a creative industry that has been building up over the past decade. So, in a way, it was hard to leave I guess, as we were really comfortable there.  We moved out from Lima almost 11 years ago and we think in the long run it really paid off. The experiences we’ve been exposed to, the people we met, the different kinds of weather, food, languages, etc. Is just fantastic to be able to explore the world doing what you like. 

So I would advise: if you have even the smallest chance to try something new DO IT! You can always go back home, but you won’t be able to experience something new if you just stay home. That’s basically the main reason why we published our first book “Por si alguien te dice que no” (if someone ever tells you, you can’t do it). We wanted to motivate people with dreams, to stand up from their comfort zone and go do things they really want to do. It's more of a motivational book than an advertising one and plays also on the concept that when we have more limitations we are more free and open to creating new stuff.

We think that’s a great value of South Americans, people like to have fun and do what they like, they don’t care that much about money or responsibilities – they live every day to the fullest. You then add traveling and exploring to that mindset and it’s a win-win situation.

Our latest project at Lanfranco & Cordova is for Almirante, a brand-new craft beer from Punta Hermosa, Peru. The client, Joaquin Castagnetto, is an ex-pro surfer and craft beer specialist whose love of the sea is reflected in the beer's name Almirante ("Admiral"). He was really keen on doing print/outdoor to display on their channels of distribution in Punta Hermosa. We worked together with Ale Burset who's one of the best photographers in the market, and also with Fede Garcia, an amazing creative director from Argentina, who has worked in Japan and is currently based in NY. The idea is simple, a metaphor of the little moments when your girlfriend allows you to go out with the guys. We show a group of  "almirantes," celebrating their friendship. It's a simple idea, nice insight and executed beautifully by Ale and Diego Speroni, his retoucher. The piece is running in the Peruvian press media and as a poster at all the Punta Hermosa restaurants where they sell Almirante."

Client: Kokopelli, Agency: Lanfranco & Cordova, Lima, Creative Directors: Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Rolando Cordova, Copywriters: Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Rolando Cordova, Art Directors: Rolando Cordova, Gian Carlo Lanfranco

Client: Chevrolet, Agency: Commonwealth/McCann, New York, Executive Creative Directors: Dave Damman, Tim Teegarden, Creative Directors: Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Rolando Cordova, Art Directors: Rolando Cordova, Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Copywriters: Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Rolando Cordova

Client: Cerveza Almirante, Agency: Lanfranco & Cordova, Lima, Creative Directors: Federico Garcia, Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Rolando Cordova, Art Directors: Rolando Cordova, Federico Garcia, Copywriters: Federico Garcia, Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Carlos Pabon, Photographer: Ale Burset, Digital Artist: Diego Speroni