5 Minutes With... Luis Paulo Gatti

Luis Paulo ‘LP’ Gatti’s 20 year career has featured several stops across the globe. From his beginnings as an art director in Rio de Janeiro, he moved on to agencies in São Paulo, Dubai, Berlin, and Stuttgart before reaching his current role at White Rabbit – in Budapest.

Ever curious, LP tackles a double role at the independent creative agency, both working as executive creative director and heading up its entertainment side. He does so with a particular focus on gaming and sports, through a shared operation between White Rabbit and SquarePixel, which LP launched last year in the South American and European markets. If that wasn’t enough, LP simultaneously busies himself with bringing up the next generation of talent at Miami Ad School Brasil, a prestigious institution whose students have gone on to win at Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD, and the Clio Awards.

Catching him in a rare free moment, LBB’s Zara Naseer caught up with LP to discuss his early days in the industry, what he’s learnt from his travels, and why it’s important to pass on your knowledge.

LBB> Where did you grow up and what sort of kid were you? Were there any clues back then as to the career path you’d end up taking?

LP> I grew up in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. The city is known for its beaches and beautiful landscapes, but the northern zone is quite far from that area. It's a place with a very strong skateboarding community, so from a very young age, starting at 10 years old, I was immersed in that universe.

Without realising it, I learned a lot about video editing and art direction through the language and aesthetics of the sport, and many other doors started opening over the years. Since there are skateparks in different neighbourhoods, it was normal to move between poorer and rich communities. And of course, this also opened my mind to understand that when we are creating, we most understand our audience. I also learned a lot about music because the sessions were always accompanied by people listening to a wide variety of styles.

LBB> How did you get into advertising? Was it a purposeful decision or more of an accident?

LP> It was totally by accident. I did an exam and I won a scholarship. My initial goal was just to get a job. In one of the classes, a teacher gave the students a brief for Young Guns. I proposed the idea that ended up winning. Interestingly, my first advertising award was the Young Guns in the professional category.

LBB> In the early days of your career, were there any projects that particularly helped develop and fine-tune your creative eye?

LP> Definitely. I got a job through a recommendation from a teacher; I was a complete nerd at university. It was in this job where I first made contact with Lürzer's Archive magazine. I used to buy it second-hand and had a collection. I celebrated a lot when my first campaign got selected [to be featured] by them. Coincidentally, it was the same one I won the Young Guns for.

LBB> In addition to being White Rabbit’s ECD, you’re also responsible for the entertainment side of the agency, focusing on gaming and sports. What are your most exciting plans for White Rabbit in these areas?

LP> Currently, our main clients are in Brazil. Our objective is to create more projects in Europe. At the end of last year, we launched several successful campaigns, and we will announce more soon. We want to show our clients the benefit of working with people who are passionate and specialists in these topics.

LBB> You’ve worked in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Dubai, Berlin, Stuttgart, and now Budapest – what's the biggest thing you've learnt from all your globetrotting?

LP> The world is beautiful and complex, and it's a shame that life is too short. When I discovered that it was possible to live in different places through advertising, that became my main goal in life. I had the privilege of meeting people from so many different countries and becoming friends with them, and through that, I was able to understand more about how they think.

I consider myself to be very open to different cultures. In my work, I’ve always tried to include everything I’ve learned throughout my journey. Searching online is good, but seeing things in person is completely different.

LBB> Is ‘good creative’ largely the same wherever you go, or does it vary significantly market to market? How do you adapt your creative sensibilities to every place you call ‘home’?

LP> You can live in the same place your whole life, and things can change a lot. Especially in recent years, society has been greatly impacted by technology, and this, of course, changes the way we relate to each other. So, it’s all about knowing how to adapt. In the case of moving to another country, a person just needs to adapt faster.

LBB> You’ve been an instructor and coordinator at Miami Ad School Brasil for almost a decade – what do you find most rewarding about uplifting the next generation?

LP> I believe that the one who learns the most is the one who teaches. I have a huge passion for teaching because I get the pleasure of seeing the journey of students gradually maturing and achieving their own dreams. We discuss values in class, which I make a point of because there's always a way to improve our industry. I myself have changed a lot in the last 10 years as well, and I am very grateful to PA (Paulo Andre Bione) for being my mentor on this journey.

LBB> What are you recently most proud of and why?

LP> There are two things. One is taking my son to the Maracanã stadium (Rio, Brazil) and seeing his fascination for my favourite football team, Flamengo. Which, by the way, will compete in the FIFA Club World Cup. My son was born in 2019, right when Flamengo won the Libertadores de América for the second time, which is the biggest tournament in Latin America. The second thing is that he became addicted to the game, ‘Smash Bros’. He plays as Luigi, and it's really funny because I can understand why he chose this character and not others like Mario, DK, Sonic, etc.

LBB> What trends in the industry do you find yourself ranting about the most and why?

LP> We need to stay aware of the latest developments in artificial intelligence, and it's also essential to be very attentive to politics. I believe that we will ‘specialise’ more and more. The best thing is sitting in a meeting with a client and both parties understanding each other because they know exactly what they’re talking about.

LBB> Outside of work, what's inspiring you right now?

LP> I’m sorry to disappoint, but my inspirations remain the same. People, cultures, random conversations at the bus stop, and so on. I continue reading the news and following different social networks about completely random topics (I love doing this, opening something I have no idea about and just starting to watch).

The only ‘new’ thing is that my son came to visit Brazil for the first time recently, and I saw a child who doesn’t speak the local language connect with a culture he had previously known very little about. It’d be wonderful if all of us adults could be as open as children, wouldn’t it?

Budapest is a very interesting and beautiful city. I have one year of experience here, and it continues to surprise me. If you haven't visited yet, I highly recommend that you do. And if you want any advice about what to do, come to visit us at White Rabbit.