5 Minutes with… Lucas Peon
Lucas Peon is a multifaceted creative leader who’s spent over 20 years delivering growth through creativity for some of the best companies in the world. He comes armed with a unique background that includes heading film production houses, digital marketing companies and traditional advertising agencies.
Lucas is no stranger to breaking records in the industry either - he spent four years leading the creative department at J. Walter Thompson London, achieving its best creative awards performance in two decades. During his time there, the agency won more than 200 awards, including 10 Cannes Lions, nine D&AD pencils, and 10 Clios, among others.
For the past four years, Lucas has been chief creative officer at The Gate London. In that time, the agency’s work has already won the greatest number of accolades in the history of the agency, positioning The Gate as “top performing UK small agency at D&AD and Cannes” in 2021, while following one simple plan - keep the full focus on the work. With that, Lucas saw the agency add seven key new brands to its roster in less than 24 months.
Born in Argentina, raised in France, having lived in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the United States and the UK, Lucas’ passion lies in driving highly distinctive, multi-disciplinary work that grows brands and businesses by understanding the wonderfully diverse world we live in and how we live it. But most of all, as he puts it himself, he lives to tell stories through any medium available to him.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Lucas to find out about his time at The Gate and his vision for the future.
LBB> Tell me about your childhood - did you have an inkling that you would work in the creative industries? What was your path to creativity like?
Lucas> My dad’s job required us to relocate to a new country or a new city every couple of years - France, the US, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, etc. I spent most of my time drawing comics, writing stories, and making music. Creativity was my way of connecting and making friends no matter where I landed. I didn’t have a plan for it. It was what I did. I loved it. I did it. So, when it became time to decide what I would do for the rest of my life, I found a way to keep doing it. I went to film school, hoping to keep on creating. Film introduced me to its good friend, the advertising industry, early on, and we’ve been dating ever since.
LBB> What is your background in the creative industry and what does it bring to your current role at The Gate?
Lucas> My background is diverse, to say the least. I started in digital graphics and animation, then I directed adverts, then I moved agency-side, in digital agencies, non-digital agencies, mixed agencies – wherever I felt useful.
I've led creative departments in Argentina, the US, and the UK. For big networks, small agencies, and start-ups. The Gate is designed to help brands succeed in today's world, where audiences are fluid in their channel choices and dynamic when it comes to mixing them. So, having a background like mine helps me appreciate the amazing amount of specific creative skills we bring together on any given project, any given day. Years ago, I wasn't sure if having a diverse creative background was something to be proud of. Today, I think it's essential.
LBB> What do awards mean to you in today's industry?
Lucas> Getting great work out there is the opposite of easy. It takes a good idea, sure, but it also takes luck, risk, hard work, and a village - without your team, partners, and clients, no matter how talented you may be, great work won't happen. Awards help teams remember the massive journey we took together and encourage us to continue working in the same way. They have industry value in terms of PR for the agency, and credentials for the company and the people. But their most crucial value to me, is their motivational aspect. They drive the industry to produce standout work, which is the essence of what we're meant to do.
LBB> How did you collide with The Gate and how did you end up becoming CCO? What does your role entail?
Lucas> I was leading the creative department of a global network agency at the time, when I met Jamie Elliot, CEO of The Gate and Kit Altin, CSO of The Gate. They were looking for a creative partner that could – in their words - help them put the agency on the map through the work.
That was the plan. Simple: full focus on the work. I loved the plan and joined them about four years ago. As an agency, that’s still what defines us - everything we do is about the work. As the CCO, I’m fundamentally on the hook for the creative quality of our work. My role, in simple terms, entails attracting and retaining the best creative talent, making sure we are an environment that helps them perform at their best, and collaborating with everyone at the agency, partners outside the agency, and clients, to help create work that stands out and is remembered.
LBB> What is the most exciting part of being CCO and what are some learnings that you have taken away from being CCO for the Gate?
Lucas> To me it’s the responsibility of building spectacular teams, capable of creating spectacular work, and then helping them create this spectacular work. It’s a continuous cycle.
We are always in building mode. We are always in pushing-ourselves mode. And in terms of the learnings that I’ve taken away from being CCO for The Gate, I’d say it’s the reaffirmation that simplicity is a powerful advantage. The simpler we keep our company and our process, the more attention we can give to our team, and the more attention the work gets.
LBB> What would you tell your 18-year-old self with the knowledge you have now in mind?
Lucas> Go for it.
LBB> What does your multinational background bring to the way you view creativity and advertising?
Lucas> I think it brings an immense respect for whatever is happening in any corner of the world. I’ve had the opportunity to experience advertising as a local in many countries, and to collaborate with the most amazing creatives in many markets. It’s proven to me that creativity is huge, rich, unexpected, impossible to label, predict, or bottle. It’s alive and ever-evolving.
I’m convinced that the more diverse you keep your agency, the more open you keep your culture, the more adaptable and accepting you keep your process, the wider you open doors for great ideas to slip in. And if you keep away from preconceived parameters of what ideas need to be, if you keep away from following what the nearest pack is doing, you increase your chances to do something unique, distinct, and powerful.
LBB> Tell me about the most career-impactful campaign you've ever worked on and why has it been that?
Lucas> Many campaigns I’ve been part of have impacted my career in different moments and different ways, and I'd love to brag about them all. However, if I only get to brag about one, I'd choose one that we created here at The Gate: ‘Nobody is Normal’ for Childline. The reason is because it put our agency on the map. You can tell you've hit something special when people around the world are sharing it, and the circle comes back to you. For instance, someone completely unrelated to our industry, on another continent, points your attention to a campaign they think is amazing, only to find out that we are the ones who made it. Again, it takes many things: a great idea, a phenomenal team effort, a spectacular group of external partners, and a great client who fought for the campaign and protected it throughout its journey from a piece of paper to a fully produced body of work. That's what it takes. When all these points hit an A+ mark, you have a career-defining campaign.
LBB> What do you love and what do you dislike about the ad industry in its current state, both worldwide and specific to the UK?
Lucas> I love that right-brain advertising is reclaiming the spotlight in the minds of every marketer. The power of stories, emotions, and laughter has thoroughly proven to be more effective than anything else. This is fuelling a creative renaissance in the industry, so my thumbs up goes to that. I can’t think of anything I hate in our industry.
LBB> What is your passion outside of work?
Lucas> Telling stories. I write, I draw, I make videos. I always have something I want to communicate. I always have my project. Keeps me happy. Keeps me unhappy. But always more happy than unhappy.
