Creativity Squared: Christian Sánchez On Why Creativity is a Muscle
Christian Sánchez – or ‘Tin’, as he’s been known for over 20 years in the Peruvian and regional advertising market – has had a thriving career building and adding value to brands in each project he has had the chance to be part of.
He started out as art director and was considered by the prestigious Lürzer’s Archive magazine one of the best art directors in the international market for five consecutive years. He was co-creator of one of the most successful Peruvian campaigns in the history of Peruvian advertising, ‘De Perú para Peru’ (From Perú for Peru), better known as ‘Peru, Nebraska’, which was the launch of Peru’s Country Brand, and he participated in the creation of the first Peruvian campaign to appear in the Super Bowl: ‘Water’ for Colgate.
His achievements include having successfully participated in creative festivals such as The One Show, AD&D, London Festival, NY Festivals, El Sol, Fiap and Cannes Lions (13 lions).
I believe creativity is a muscle we're all born with, and depending on how we feed and exercise it, it strengthens over time with everything we learn throughout our lives. It's a quality that grows with time, especially in a society like ours (Latin America). With so many challenges where life constantly tests you, you need to be creative to succeed.
I consider myself very fortunate to be able to work in a field I love and to have surrounded myself with wonderful people throughout my career who shared all their talent with me. Thanks to them, I've been able to grow and progress in this crazy world of advertising to finally stand today at the head of a great team, for whom I only have words of admiration and respect.
I'm a bit shy and introverted, and of course, it's a constant struggle because I work in a world where communication is the backbone of what we do. On the other hand, being an introverted person has its advantages: It allows you to realise the importance of listening.
I get bored quickly, and that's another one of my struggles. That's why I value consistency so much because it implies commitment, discipline and determination in everything you set out to do, even when you don't see immediate results that encourage you to keep going.
I'm not sure if I consume many "creative" things, but I try as much as possible to be exposed to all kinds of stimuli, for I understand that advertising is a reflection of our society and it flows from life itself. Everything I see may end up being input that, at some point, will serve for some idea.
My process starts in a more intuitive way. I believe there's nothing more honest than that "gut feeling" when you hear ideas for the first time. That's why I try not to pressure myself with the responsibility of having to evaluate them; I try to let them naturally impact me, like any regular person. Immediately after comes the rational part; I contrast them with the strategy to confirm that they do indeed respond to the request. For me, ideas are like helium balloons flying freely but tied to a ground cable, which is the strategy. That's why I make sure they really have that balance between good creativity and a clear message.
In the past, perhaps due to youth and the desire to always have brilliant campaigns, I thought we could fly freely with our ideas, regardless of whether they were on brief or not. Now I understand that the brilliance of what we do lies in moving freely within a square meter of space, which is the brief, and in that confined space, shining.
One of my first ads as an art director was for the National Society of Pisco Producers (distilled grape liquor). It was about a dispute between Chile and Peru over the authorship of the name Pisco. Thanks to this ad, Pisco Day was instituted in Peru, and the ad ended up printed on T-shirts that people could buy.
Although it will always be one of my favourites, the campaign we did a few years ago to launch our country brand "Peru from Peru" for PromPeru undoubtedly marked a before and after in my advertising life. Not only did I receive the assignment to launch the brand of my country and achieve unprecedented results for the agency in many advertising festivals, which already gives it a special flavour, but also many Peruvians rediscovered a feeling of pride for our country. That, without a doubt, was the best recognition.
I don't know if I'm a romantic for advertising or just a guy who's been in this for years, but it's increasingly difficult to find inspiring ideas or campaigns with deep thoughts that set a trend and leave a mark. Note, it's not that they don't exist, but it's increasingly difficult to find that kind of campaign that inspired people of my generation to become advertisers. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm not that young, but the phrase "any past time was better" sounds like a great phrase to me.
Usually, during a briefing conversation with the client, the first ideas come up, which I jot down as loose phrases on my phone or in a notebook I carry with me. Then, in the conversation with the team, ideas start emerging naturally. They always appear in the middle of the work process. An idea rarely comes to me while I take a shower, run in the mornings or drive to work. They have always come to me when I have sought them out with dedication. I always start with a blank sheet of paper.
When I'm stuck, I tidy up my space. That helps me a lot. If I'm in my office, I throw away things I don't need and organise my desk. Perhaps symbolically, it's like getting rid of everything that prevents me from thinking, or maybe it's because I easily get distracted by anything and end up cleaning my office when I should be creating ideas. But many times it works, and I end up with a tidy space and good ideas on the table.
When someone on my team gets stuck with an idea, I try to refocus them by reminding them that before bringing a crazy and very delirious idea, it's important that it is first understood, and then the message can be translated brilliantly. Sometimes, it helps to remember those basic steps.
I grew up drawing a lot. That somehow helped me develop my creativity. In school, I drew my friends, made caricatures of them and the teachers, and also created comics that I wished to have but couldn't buy. I remember drawing constantly. So much so that one summer, with some friends from school who could also draw, we decided to enrol in graphic drawing and illustration classes.
At that time, at 13 years old, my dad was in charge of enroling me, and he made a mistake and enroled me in a strange advertising drawing course. For me, at that time, advertising was just the classified ads in the newspapers; I had no idea what it was. I asked to change courses, but the school didn't want to and did not want to give the money back either. So that summer, I took advertising drawing classes and three months later, I decided I would be an advertiser.
That is how I started in advertising. It was an involuntary mistake of my father’s.
I have grown up surrounding myself with people much more talented than me. I never decided to move for money; I always tried to follow projects that would make me grow and ensure that we could do the best possible work as a team. In that sense, particpation is necessary in a group, but above all, the trust they put on you is what makes you want to take on the world.
Stress often ends up being an ideal companion for creativity. The pressure and extreme situation of having to solve a campaign on time force the brain to work under pressure and sometimes generate better ideas. Perhaps it replaces the discipline and rigor that we sometimes lack to achieve better results.
I believe in collaborative work and understand that ideas are what matter, whether they come from any member of the agency or even the clients themselves. I think the best result is achieved by working hand in hand with the client and earning their trust. Therefore, it's important for clients to understand that it's necessary to develop a close, honest and sincere relationship with the agency — a relationship of much reciprocity, along with them saying, "You are the experts." It's not just a cliché phrase.
Above: Some of Christian's drawings
