Discovering Your Voice in a Second Language: How This Bicultural Creative Is Rewriting the Rules
The decision to leave his role as a creative director in Bogotá to start from scratch in the US market was a big deal for Colombian copywriter David Menses. The opportunity marked a new chapter, one that would spark a linguistic, cultural, and creative reset – as well as a chance to work alongside one of his creative role models. Now based in Los Angeles and working as a senior copywriter at Media.Monks, David is part of a growing cohort of bilingual talent navigating the nuances of ideating and storytelling across two languages and two very different creative landscapes.
Creative by nature, bilingual by design, David is undeniably fluent in ideas. Speaking with LBB’s April Summers, the copywriter reflects on what it means to discover your voice in a second language, after years of crafting award-winning ideas in his native Spanish. Opening up about the challenges of adapting humour, decoding local references, and maintaining creative authenticity while building credibility in a new market, David touches on the cultural code-switching that happens in the mind of a bilingual creative.
From award-winning work like The Beer Cap Project and culturally resonant campaign work for the California Lottery, David proves that bilingualism is not only an asset, but a powerful creative lens. For agencies navigating increasingly global markets, his story offers timely insights into how second-language creatives aren’t just translating ideas, they’re transforming them.
LBB> Let’s talk about your journey so far, from working in the LatAm market to transitioning into the US market. What was your first experience of working in the US so far?
David> My first job in the US was at Hill Holiday, in Boston, and that was the first time I came to the US for work. When I was younger, I would come here for vacation and I did get to live in the US for about two years. But after receiving an offer from Icaro Doria to join him at Hill Holiday in 2021, I went for it.
It was a big change, for sure, learning a new culture by myself. I was already pretty established in Colombia and had everything I needed. I had an apartment, I was happy at my company - but I decided to go for it anyway. I wanted to explore a new market and practice the art of advertising using English 100% of the time.
LBB> So, coming over here, you were essentially starting from scratch?
David> It did feel a bit like that. I was a creative director in Colombia so I had to take a step back. I couldn’t be a creative director here because I didn’t have the relevant experience within this market, but I was ok with it and excited for the opportunity.
LBB> I guess I'm curious, what makes the US market - and the North American market in general - enticing enough to leave everything else behind? Was it the promise of bigger clients, more work, better money?
David> It was the chance to work with Icaro because he is a legend. I couldn’t say no to him. I’ve known about him ever since I was in college – his print ads, all his campaign work. Plus, I think the more senior you become, the less you believe in the companies and care more about the people behind them. He was a CCO I truly admired and I knew I could create really awesome work with him in my corner.
LBB> That totally makes sense – how did Icaro come across your work?
David> It was because of a project I worked on for Redoxon with one of Icaro’s friends, another Brazilian guy named Alex Okada. He was global creative director for Bayer at MullenLowe London at that time. It was all because of that work – it felt so random.
Icaro believes in having a multicultural team so, when I got there, I was working with people from all over the world. It was crazy. There was a creative team from Canada, another team from Serbia, two teams were Brazilian, another team was South African – it was lots of different cultures working together. Icaro believes that blending cultures is how awesome things come about.
LBB> Looking over your portfolio, can you tell me about some of the work you are most proud of? And why?
David> One of the projects I’m most proud of is The Beer Cap Project, which I created in 2021 for AB InBev while working at MullenLowe Colombia. We transformed beer caps into a tool to promote responsible drinking and the idea resonated globally. The campaign won at Cannes, D&AD, and LBB’s Immortal Awards. It opened a lot of doors for me and still feels like a defining moment in my career.
Since moving to LA, I’ve been navigating not just a new country, but an entirely new creative culture. Going from a market where I knew the landscape to one where I had to reintroduce myself and rediscover my voice was a big shift. It hasn’t always been easy but it’s been incredibly rewarding. It’s been a real cross-cultural journey, going from local recognition to finding my place in a completely different market.
LBB> What is your experience of bringing your ideas to the table as a bicultural creative? Are you dreaming up ideas primarily in Spanish, or English now, as well? And how do you manage different ideas and different personalities in both languages? Does it impact the work?
David> Yeah, it totally does. Sometimes I brainstorm in Spanish and I feel like I have a different set of ideas than when I brainstorm in English. It can feel like my brain is going a little crazy.
For commercials, I like to brainstorm in English, but then for some reason, stunts and experiential activations, I tend to think in Spanish – I have no clue why! Maybe it’s because the humour is a little different. There’s certain gimmicks and structure in how entertainment flows here. If you look at commercial spots there is a theme of somewhat similar humour and gags so I guess that's why I do it, in order to ensure the characters feel authentic to the market.
When I was a kid, I briefly lived in the US, which is when I learned English, and that's where everything started because I was attending school here. Upon returning to Colombia, I would only speak English with my sister, which only lasted for a couple years, and then I switched back to Spanish. It’s been a lot of back and forth since then.
LBB> What would you say is the main difference between the LatAm market and the US market?
David> I'd say it's the medium. For example, Latin American countries don't typically have big budgets for these huge CGI productions. In comparison, oftentimes US commercials can look like a movie here, especially when it's the Super Bowl! So in LatAm, teams have to come up with concepts that aren't as expensive to shoot, but still connect with people.
Countries like Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, tend to figure out things differently and, in my experience, are more creative when it comes to stunts, experiential, anything related to PR. What you’ll notice is creative teams in LatAm hope to win awards at festivals so they can get their agency’s name out there. Here, the focus is simply on creating cool commercials – it's a lot more entertainment driven. It’s common to have a partnership with LeBron James or something crazy, but this type of opportunity wouldn’t be afforded to brands in Latin America.
The US has bigger budgets and a bigger liberty to fully lean into whatever it is that builds the story of the brand. If that’s humour, you could go full out like the Liquid Death or Take Five commercials. Meanwhile, Colombia plays it a lot safer, because the marketing directors there don't want to take huge risks with a small budget.
LBB> Culturally speaking, is there anything Colombian that you actively try to inject into your work here in the US?
David> Oh definitely, yes, because that’s what surrounded me growing up, and those are my insights. It’s easy to assume everyone grew up on the same things as me, so realising other people didn't watch this particular show or movie helps me realise it's different for everyone. I like skateboarding, I like video games, and if you look at my portfolio, my interests definitely influence what I like to participate in as a creative.
LBB> Can you think of an example of a project where your cultural identity has proven to be invaluable too? Maybe you solved something, or had an idea that ended up being universally resonant?
David> My recent work on the ‘Playful Ways to Scratch’ campaign comes to mind – developed here at Monks for the California Lottery. The idea was to make scratching Scratchers even more fun by switching things up and trying out unexpected ways to play.
We brought in luchadors - iconic figures in Hispanic culture - to add a playful, culturally resonant touch, which felt especially relevant given California’s large Hispanic audience. The spot aired during the Super Bowl’s regional broadcast and it is still surreal that I worked on that.
LBB> On the flip side, have you ever encountered an obstacle when pitching an idea in English. Maybe it didn't land because people just didn't get the cultural references or the translated version of the idea?
David> Oh yeah, there’s obstacles every day, but you work around them. In Colombia, the industry is quite small, so after you've worked for a couple agencies – and I had been working there for about nine years – you get to know almost everyone. So, when I started working here I joined a copywriters WhatsApp group of all the Colombians in the US, where we shared work and bounced ideas off each other. We use it to ask each other, “Hey, how did you interpret this? Would you change anything here? Do you think they'll get it? Did I spell anything wrong?” This was especially helpful before ChatGPT because we didn't really have anyone else to ask if everything was fine.
LBB> How do you feel about ChatGPT, generally speaking? Do you think it is going to replace us writers? Or are you at peace with what it represents in the creative ecosystem?
David> Honestly, I love it. I still feel like it won't be able to replace us. I use it a lot for proofreading, and to polish some things – but it’s not doing the work for me either. I'm still the one coming up with the ideas. I try to brainstorm with ChatGPT and it really doesn't help, all that much! It can provide insights, proofreading, polishing, but I think human creatives will still be around for a long time because that’s what AI struggles with – creating something us humans can connect with.
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