Dream Teams: ISLA’s Married ECDs on Love, Respect and Patience

“Love, respect and patience. That’s our mantra for work and life.”

Celeste Dalairac and Julián Tachella are ECDs at Buenos Aires-based agency ISLA.. Not only that, but they’re also married. Bringing this mantra to life both in and out of the office, Julián says the duo is complementary not by magic but by design. “We adjust ourselves to combine… you have to make an effort to keep the balance with someone else.”

Celeste, the art director of the pair, explains that their different career paths have granted them different specialties. While she has worked mainly at big networks, copywriter Julián has spent most of his career at hotshops - lending themselves to different roles and responsibilities. “I’m better with clients and he is a better creative,” she says. “Our skills are different but we have the same criteria for ideas. We both like and hate the same things.”

Since striking up a friendship on a cold, unconventional boat trip to a pizzeria, the pair have been inseparable, but only started working together a year ago - “a risky move that is going surprisingly well,” says Julián.

“I remember she was wearing a very controversial (ugly) jacket,” he jokes, “but still, I thought she was impressive. Our first official project as a team was a regional campaign for Gatorade, but we’ve always helped each other, despite working at different agencies.”

Now working as a unit, Julián says that learning to be part of a team again, after a long time ‘working solo’, has been a challenge - but not without its valuable life lessons. “Giving space to everyone to make the work better is the lesson I’m still learning. I usually take my time with ideas. I think the most interesting thoughts usually come after you chew the brief for a while, so ‘don’t rush it, let the ideas settle’ is another one.”

Together, the ECDs are leading creative for brands like Gatorade, Sabritas, Netflix and Doritos - brands which are contributing to “a very busy holidays season” for ISLA. With big productions underway, and continuing into the new year, Julián says the agency is creating some great work for these household names - especially for the launch of Gatorade Zero in Saudi Arabia, and with H2OH and Sabritas in Latin America.

Thanks to their recent successes, the duo has been able to help ISLA reach new markets, assisted also by their previous work experience in Europe. “Good work brings more work,” says Celeste. “It might seem obvious, but in the last year we’ve had many clients recommend us to other clients, in different parts of the world, which is helping the agency expand.”

Recently, this has meant working for the Asian market - a new experience that has required lots of research about local cultures to create ideas that feel natural to the region. “New markets are always challenging,” says Julián. “People around the world have a lot in common but every nation or region has unique habits. Learning about those is not impossible, but it does take more work to find the right tone and voice to land a message.”

Closer to home, however, the pair agree that one recent campaign stands out as their crowning achievement so far - a Sabritas campaign starring Latin music icon, Shakira. “It was a tough one,” says Celeste. “Clients had to like the idea, but Shakira had to also like it to have the go ahead. And because she is an artist, the bar was high, but we managed to come up with something everyone was happy with, and we were too.”

“I have to agree, adds Julián, “the experience with Shakira was super cool. In my opinion, the campaign delivers the message in a fun way and it’s good to entertain people if your brand’s mantra is ‘Enjoyment Comes First’.”

So 12 years after meeting on that cold boat trip, Celeste and Julián continue to let their own mantra guide them, but now not only as husband and wife but as creative partners too. As 2024 approaches, the pair continues to spread ISLA’s creativity further across the globe for its clients and, one year in, they continue to develop their working relationship and learn from each other - combining, as Julián says, “Love, respect and patience to make things work.”