The Work That Made Me: Tres Colacion and Giancarlo Rodas

Tres Colacion is a ramen enthusiast and Arsenal torturee. Was once the #15 creative directors in the world according to The Drum.

Giancarlo is a Peruvian group creative director with over 13 years of experience. During his career, he's been fortunate enough to work in cities such as Dubai, Los Angeles and New York. 

His work has been recognised with over 100 international awards, including two Grands Prix in festivals like Cannes Lions and multiple trophies at the One Show, Clios, London International Awards and more.  

Recently, he was named #10 creative director in the world by the D&AD global rankings, 2022, and the #03 creative director worldwide by the One Show rankings, 2022. 

The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me… 

Tres> The CPB stuff for 'Truth' in the ’90s. I don’t think that I comprehended it was an ad.. Maybe I still don’t.

Giancarlo> I'll never forget the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie scene where they're dancing to Vanilla Ice. Go ninja, go ninja, go!

The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry… 

Tres> Growing up, I didn’t know that advertising was a career option. It’s something I discovered later in life through friends and the people whom I was hanging out with. When I got my first job at an agency, I didn’t even know what a copywriter or an art director was. I sat at a desk all day wondering what I was meant to do. I’d read through Lürzer’s Archive and spent hours on the old Cannes archive. I’ll never forget the day I watched Marc Ecko’s 'Still Free,' created by Droga5.

Giancarlo> I was living in Peru in the early 2000s, trying to be a musician, but I decided it would be tough to make money from the music I wanted to do (fusion rock), so I started looking for options. I was studying communications, and one day, I was taking a class about advertising that would change it all. The teacher played the Cannes Lions reel, and 'Decode Jay-Z' blew my mind - 100% this is a true story - I'm not saying this because I work at Droga5. 

The creative work that I keep revisiting… 

Tres> John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, the new Lil Yachty’s album Let’s Start Here, the films of Satyajit Ray.

Giancarlo> Wong Kar-wai films, Chuck Palahniuk books and Afro Peruvian music. 

My first professional project… 

Tres> Probably something that I’m happy to not remember.

Giancarlo> My first (special) project was a print campaign for Duracell that won a bronze Cannes Lion. My mom and dad took me out for a nice dinner that night.

The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…

Tres> If an ad made me angry, it’s probably a pretty good ad. I never wanted to make conventional advertising; I still don’t really want to.

Giancarlo> Many years ago, I did a campaign for a big fashion retailer about gender equality, and we were launching it on International Women's Day. We created a rap song with a famous artist and made a music video with a renowned film director. The film aired only once before the client decided it wasn't right for the brand and cancelled the rest of the campaign. I'm not angry at the work; it was awesome. I'm mad that many Peruvians needed to get that message, and it's a shame that the client didn't feel brave enough to be on the right side of history. 

The piece of work that still makes me jealous…

Tres> I’ll spend my life attempting to write a line better than: “It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.” 

Giancarlo> Lately, I've been really into anything MSCHF does. If you look at what they did for the landing page for Key4All it shows you that they know how to create excitement about their crazy drops. The manifesto they wrote for that project is: chef's kiss. 

The creative project that changed my career… 

Tres> When I was 21 years old, I moved across the world to start a club night with a friend based on little more than a summer spent partying and a truly half-baked 'plan.' If I wouldn’t have done that, there is not a shred of possibility that I would be writing this now. 

Giancarlo> 'A Love Song Written by a Murderer' for Vida Mujer. After that, I ended up in amazing places like Dubai, Los Angeles and New York. It really changed my life in significant ways.

The work that I’m proudest of… 

Tres> The best work is the work that has the ability to leave a legacy. In 2019, we worked with An-Nahar to release the “Blank Edition” at the height of Lebanon’s political crisis. While we were awarded the Middle East’s first Grand Prix at Cannes, it’s the work that’s come after it (including another Grand Prix) that’s the most impressive. It makes me proud to have been a part of that beginning. 

Giancarlo> I’ll go with the 'Blank Edition' as well. Really proud that we got to do such influential work with an amazing, brave client. 

I was involved in this and it makes me cringe… 

Tres> I probably cringe when rewatching anything I’ve been involved in. For better or worse, often all I can see is what we did wrong and what we could have done better.  

Giancarlo> My Fotolog era. 

The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most… 

Tres> I’m currently in the process of writing a short film with Droga5 producer Carlos Valdivia, and it feels like the beginning all over again. 

Giancarlo> Right now, we're working with Meta, and there's a lot of awesome stuff in the oven. Stay tuned.