MARCELO REIS
Mercelo Reis is Creative VP and Partner at Leo Burnett Tailor Made in São Paulo, Brazil. He talks classic McDonald's campaigns and his latest campaign for Livraria da Vila, "the coolest bookstore in São Paulo".
Image: Marcelo Reis
Growing up, Marcelo admired Brazilian creatives Oscar Niemeyer and Washington Olivetto: an architect and an advertiser. “Because of that, I chose to study architecture and marketing at the same time at two different universities,” he explains.
“After a year, I realised that I wasn’t so good with building design and spaces, but I was in love with the creative process. I love writing, so I chose the most difficult one.
The first thing I do in my day is...
Run. I’m training for The Chicago Marathon. And it takes time, dedication and a little bit of loneliness. And it is very good for thinking about your client’s strategy.
At the moment I am working on...
A new campaign for Livraria da Vila, the coolest bookstore in São Paulo. It’s a social project to provide books for poor people that receive a basic needs package every month.
The name of the project is “www.leituraalimenta.com.br”, but in English it would be “Reading Feeds”. People donate old books and we incorporate them in the package. It’s amazing.
The best piece of creative work around at the moment is...
I prefer talking about brand strategy than pieces of creative work. Old Spice has always made campaigns that have the power to change behaviour. I really like that brand.
I am inspired by...
The streets. Being in contact with people, it doesn’t matter where, is the best way to fill your mind with ideas, concepts, images - everything. For me, it’s more exciting than books, websites, pictures or drawings, because the human being is the origin of all artistic manifestation.
This year I’ll be attending...
I’m going to the BAFTAs in London and Cannes, but the best creative event that I would like to go to this year is going to happen in Norway: the Northern Lights. This is my dream and I would like to realise it this year. I think it is the most inspiringspectacle in the world.
The next big thing in advertising is going to be...
That answer is a secret. I could tell you but then...
The piece of advertising work I wish I had thought of is...
The classic McDonald’s 99p TV campaign including ads "Plumber", "Chef" and "Alan Hansen". I have always loved it and now I’m working for the guy who made it. Look how life is full of surprises. It is the campaign that changed the way people sell in advertising - spectacular.
In a film about my life, I’d like to be played by...
Sean Penn. Because he is one of the best actors on the planet and there is a rumour that he put Madonna’s face in the toilet. My hero.
The screen background on my mobile phone is ...
I have a Galaxy S3 and I bought it two weeks ago. It has so many incredible functions that I haven’t had time to change the original screen background. That’s why I have an image of a beautiful bright blue ripple in water. Imagine what the new S4 will be like when it arrives in Brazil! (Thanks for opportunity to talk about my client.)
My last social media update said...
“Bye Bye”. I killed myself on Facebook and Instagram last month. But I was reborn with a completely incomprehensible name. It will be a new social experience, more restricted, few friends.
I believe that social media is more than a channel or a place or a media. It is the new “social life”. We live there and use this “thing” to communicate with everybody we know and don’t know. But sometimes it swallows up your real life because it’s seductively addictive.
In up and coming talent, I look for...
People completely different from me.
The last song I listened to was...
The best answer is: which is the last song that invaded and dominated your mind? It was the Harlem Shake. Funny bullshit.
Video: McDonald’s “Plumber” by Leo Burnett, London
