5 Minutes with… Jaime Azurmendi
Although he was born and raised in Spain, Jaime Azurmendi started his career as an art director working in Stockholm. But it was his passion for music that drew him to Sweden - not the advertising scene there. His passion for advertising, which had been nurtured since he was in school, took him back to Madrid, where he has since worked at Bob Communication, BTOB, FullSIX and NOW Havas, climbing the creative leadership ladder.
In 2020, Jaime joined Cheil Spain as a creative director and, although he had to adjust to the new role while covid-19 turned everyone’s life upside down, he has since contributed to projects that he expresses a lot of pride for, including innovative and life-enhancing work for Samsung, Leukaemia and Santander.
Before he heads into the creative data and innovation jury for Eurobest, LBB’s Alex Reeves took the chance to catch up with Jaime.
LBB> What were you like as a kid? Did you show any traits that gave a clue as to your creative future?
Jaime> Definitely yes. I have always been a person with a huge creative restlessness.
Since I was a kid I loved drawing, although I have never really been good at it. When I was six or seven years old, I spent my time designing sneakers and bicycles, which I am still passionate about.
My parents always enhanced my creativity in any discipline, but particularly in music. I started playing the piano when I was six years old and the drums when I was 11. From the age of 13, I started composing music. This was my great passion when I was young, almost obsessive.
LBB> How did you end up in advertising? Was it by mistake or were you purposeful about it?
Jaime> Since I was young, I knew that whatever I dedicated myself to, it had to be creative. I would have loved to be an industrial designer, but my strong point has always been words over numbers.
So why advertising? On Spanish TV, every year there were two specials from Cannes Lions and another from El Sol, the Ibero-American advertising festival. Those programmes showed the best ads in every edition and they were simply amazing. I videotaped the programmes and watched them over and over again. When I finished high school, I knew that advertising was the career that best suited me.
Luckily, this year, I have had the opportunity to close a personal circle. ‘Unfear’ managed to be El Sol's most-awarded campaign of the year. So somehow, I managed to perform well in the very festival that motivated me to be a creative.
LBB> You began your career in Stockholm. What was that experience like having grown up in Spain?
Jaime> I moved to Sweden when I finished my studies at university. I went there because Sweden is the third largest explorer of music in the world and the place in Europe with the most musicians per capita. So, it was the perfect place to learn and improve my music and enjoy the experience of living abroad.
The change was big - going from sunny Spain to Sweden. Culturally, we are very different countries, but I think my personality fits well with the Nordic mentality. In any case, the differences between countries have always seemed enriching to me. I tried to collect everything good about the Swedish way of life and share everything good about the Spanish character.
LBB> Since 2010 you've been back in the Madrid advertising scene. How do you think it compares to other advertising cities around the world?
Jaime> Madrid is an incredible city to work in. The Spanish industry is quite concentrated in the capital, so most of the best agencies and clients are here. Furthermore, culturally, it is an intense city. Every day there is something different happening - a new creative input to learn about.
Plus, we have an obvious connection with Europe and the rest of the world, but Madrid still preserves its own character; a way of being and expressing itself that is noticeable in many campaigns and makes them unique.
LBB> What work are you most proud of in your career, and why?
Jaime> I have always been very concerned that my work holds transcendence. For a few years now, I have been able to direct my career towards utility. I believe that creativity and communication, along with the power of brands, have the ability, and almost the responsibility, to be useful to their audience.
Trying to make campaigns fulfil a useful role, at any level (helping people, solving a problem, or sometimes simply entertaining practically), is perhaps what I value most about my work and what I always try to achieve: communicate by providing value.
Some examples are ‘Tallk’ for Samsung, ‘The Battle Inside’, a modification of ‘DOOM Eternal’ to raise awareness around Leukaemia, and ‘FiEELd’ for Santander.
LBB> What drew you to Cheil in 2020? You started just as covid-19 was kicking off!
Jaime> Working at Cheil has always been one of my professional goals. Moreover, in Spain, Cheil is the agency that best suited my profile. It’s a place where creativity and technology is at the service of the brand, but also of its audience.
And yes, the pandemic shook us from the beginning. I attended the office for three weeks and then the lockdown started. It was a difficult time because, besides the obvious that happened around the world, together with Alejandro di Trolio, ECD of Cheil, we were building a new team. But I think it has been an experience that has made us better, more efficient, and definitively more resilient.
LBB> What have you recently been most proud of and why?
Jaime> Samsung’s ‘Unfear’, our campaign for ASD people. It has been a wide and very complex project that is still growing and expanding to other countries.
What makes me choose ‘Unfear’ over other campaigns is its magnitude. It was months of work, from the identification of the problem - acoustic hypersensitivity in the ASD collective - to the development of the app and communication, to the entire testing process with doctors, therapists and people from the ASD group. It has been a long journey, but personally, this campaign made me feel proud to see first hand how an idea can improve people's lives.
LBB> What do you find inspiring in Spanish culture right now that you'd like more of the world to know about?
Jaime> The music scene in Spain has been especially creative lately. Many young artists are watching our culture and our folk through new optics.
From almost forgotten genres such as traditional Galician music, with artists like Baiuca, to other styles that are being reinterpreted, such as the flamenco of Califato ¾ or even the global hit of Rosalía.
