For Juan Oubiña, “Think Less, Create More” is a Life Mantra

If Juan Oubiña could travel back in time and give himself one piece of advice, it would be to “think less and create more.” Why? Because “anybody can come up with a great idea, just a few can do them.” Well, today Juan does both, think and create, in the role of executive content director at Oak Leaf Productions, a full service production, content and media company.

Juan's love for what’s on the TV screen, especially films and series, started early and at 17 he took his first screenwriting course. “I realised I could turn what I loved into a profession,” he recalls of that experience. Naturally, the next step was film school. Juan says that in his native Argentina, and like in most film schools, European cinema was the primary reference but Juan always found inspiration in American cinema and its stories. “My earliest influences were directors like Coppola, Scorsese, and Hitchcock,” he reveals. 

Naturally, he’s still passionate about what’s on screens. “The best storytelling has moved from the big screen to TV shows. Nowadays, I discover the kind of stories I've always loved there. But I've also gotten into documentaries more. Unlike in the past, we now have access to a ton of documentaries. YouTube is also a great place for finding shorter and more unique formats that inspire me.”

Film was one part of Juan’s education - the other was communication with a specialisation in advertising, giving Juan the perfect foundation to succeed at what he does today. Early in his career, Juan worked with iconic brands like Got Milk? and Energizer, and he remains proud of what he achieved in that time. “Those videos were recognised by most advertising festivals like Cannes and Clio. In 2016, the Smithsonian Museum selected a campaign I did 15 years ago to be part of an advertising collection.”

“As for entertainment-related projects, I would say that the first short film I made here in the US, called ‘The Unknown’, was a significant achievement for me. It even won some awards for best screenplay. In the documentary world, I co-wrote ‘Desamparados’, which was a powerful documentary about middle-class families who lost their homes and ended up living on the streets due to foreclosure and the job crisis in the USA.”

A filmmaker at heart, Juan “always saw advertising as a form of entertainment” which he says gave him the opportunity to tell the kind of stories he’s always enjoyed telling but “in shorter formats.”

Juan’s experience in the advertising industry is rich and varied. He has actually worked with Oak Leaf Producton’s CEO, John Gallegos, for close to a decade across various agencies. Juan then struck out on his own to test out different waters, eventually founding his own agency. But some things can come full circle unexpectedly. “At my agency, alongside my partner Curro Chozas, we developed some very interesting projects that weren't closely related to traditional advertising. We contributed ideas for building construction, created products, music videos and more. The work we were doing caught John's attention, and that's how he acquired our company, and I joined Oak Leaf.”

“What I enjoy most about working at Oak Leaf is the team's support in creating the kind of stories I've always been passionate about. We have a highly flexible structure that allows us to take on all kinds of projects. We don't limit ourselves to one thing; at Oak Leaf, we constantly work on different types of projects. We developed flavours for canned cocktails, designed cans, wrote and produced documentaries, and advertising campaigns, we are creating products, and more. Each day brings something new, making it impossible to get bored.”

Oak Leaf Productions is a minority-owned company, and it prides itself on its ability to connect with diverse audiences which is a surefire way to cut through the sheer noise of advertising today. For Juan and Oak Leaf, redressing the balance of minority representation on and off screen is a necessary project to keep building on. “America is a diverse audience, and being who we are allows us to have that sensitivity and the power to tell stories that are relevant to this audience. For many years, many minorities have been underrepresented in the world of entertainment. Things have improved, but we still have a long way to go, and companies like Oak Leaf productions will contribute to that. Our part is to discover those great stories that are often overlooked by others but are now relevant and necessary,” Juan says.

It’s a commitment that Juan sees reaching far into the future and one that will make a difference at all levels of the industry. “The future will bring us great stories, as well as stories that may not be as grand, but one thing I'm sure of is that the entertainment universe will become more diverse at all levels. We will have a more diverse group of writers, actors, directors, crew members, and executives.”