Matias Jaramillo in Advertising
A Collection of Anecdotes and Happy Accidents.
Ever since I was young, I've been fascinated by a variety of visual media, such as store windows, signage, brand logos, packaging, photography, fashion, street advertising, billboards, TV commercials, variety shows, magazines, and illustrated encyclopedias.
This love for seeing how "Art and Copy" was combined, led me to explore the world of fine arts and experiment with a range of mediums, ultimately leading me to something called New Genres, which is essentially an art category that encompasses everything and anything.
However, with the rise of the internet, I found myself drawn to a new form of creative expression: advertising. Although it may seem like an unlikely fit for someone with a background in fine arts, I discovered that I truly enjoy the challenge of combining art and marketing to try to create effective and memorable advertising campaigns.
Orange Fingerprints
Brand: Cheetos
As a creative strategist for this campaign I played an important role in the development of the curent creative platform for Hot Cheetos, targeted at a Hispanic audience while still appealing to Cheetos' general consumers.
The initial inspiration for the campaign came from MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" Cheetos Superbowl commercial, which served as a jumping-off point for our team. We wanted to create a concept that was just as mischievous and fun as the original, but with a clear purpose. Instead of telling people they couldn't touch the product, we wanted to encourage them to do just that.
The phrase "Deja Tu Huella," which translates to "Leave Your Mark," perfectly encapsulated this idea. By encouraging people to interact with the product, we could create a stronger emotional connection between consumers and the brand. With this in mind, we built a creative platform that celebrated individuality and encouraged people to make their mark on the world – all while enjoying the delicious taste of Flaming Hot Cheetos.
Brand: The Wild Detectives
Shequel: Redefining Classic Tales
A collection of rewritten classics in which women have the leading role. A gender bender book collection.
My then boss, Ciro Sarmiento, had tasked me with pitching ideas that could follow in the footsteps of the successful Litbaits project. Inspired by a thread on Reddit about fans altering or adding to the stories they loved, I proposed the idea of taking classic works that were free of copyright and rewriting them from the perspective of a female main character.
Given the importance of the #MeToo movement at the time, the creative team was immediately on board with the idea. I also took a lead role in directing the creation of digital assets that aimed to inspire readers and upcoming writers to include more female characters in leading roles.
As part of this effort, we rewrote and printed a limited edition of Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days" with a new heroine named Phoebe Fogg. We printed 1,000 copies of the book and donated them to the Dallas Independent School District, where they now reside in the libraries of Dallas schools.
You can read “The Adventures of Phoebe Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days” here.
One Show / Merit / Intellectual Property - Physical Product
Cannes / Shortlist / Brand Experience & Activation
Cannes / Shortlist / Print & Publishing
El Ojo de Iberoamérica / Bronze / Design / Editorial
Creativity Online Top 5 Ideas of the Week
Brand: The Wild Detectives
Litbaits
One afternoon, Raul Mendez approached me with a new project. He had been tasked with taking something he had been doing on his own and applying it to one of the agency's clients.
Raul had been creating landing pages on Medium that took advantage of the platform's metadata to entice people to click on a clickbait link. Once clicked, visitors would be taken to a landing page where they would be informed that they had fallen into a clickbait trap.
We had the client, we had the platform, but we didn't have the content. That's when I suggested to Raul that we use public domain books. He downloaded a free ebook from the internet, copied the entire content, and pasted it into a post on Medium. He hit publish, and it worked.
And thus, this campaign was born.
You fell for the bait, now fall for the book.
Facebook Awards
Cannes Lions 2017 / Bronze / PR
Cannes Lions 2017 / Bronze / Cyber
Brand: Petsmart
Groomed With Love
At the time, the agency was in need of a Creative Director for this account as they were tasked with the brand's digital marketing. Given my experience, they thought I would be a good fit for the role. The brief was to help establish trust with the brand's groomers and attract new customers to book appointments for their pets. This led to the creation of Groomed With Love.
To achieve our goals, we developed a series of content that included video portraits, candid interviews, and photography. The aim was to repurpose these into Facebook ads and organic content to engage with the brand's audience.
Brand: Pollo Campero
Chicken Dealer
Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan fast-food chain known for its flavorful chicken dishes, has been working with Dieste for the past 7 years. As of mid 2023, I've been the creative director for the past 6 of those years.
In that time, we've developed a number of successful marketing campaigns that have helped to introduce Campero to new audiences and build a strong brand presence in the US market.
It is worth noting that Campero targets a general market audience and is not a Hispanic-focused brand.
I'm really proud of the work I've done to help evolve the brand into a more accessible one in the US market.
In that time, I've created over 500 pieces of original organic content, launched four new chicken sandwiches, a bowl, and a boneless chicken nugget called Camperitos.
I've also managed all aspects of the brand's marketing communication, from online video to in-store displays. Campero has retained Dieste as its creative agency for the last 6 years, and our good work has translated into a yearly increase of work scope.
As creative director for Campero, I focus on delivering relevant work in a rapidly changing media landscape. This means adapting the brand to culture and media consumption, a challenging task for a young brand defining its US market position.
Today we are content creators, producers, and post producers, not just art directors or copywriters. This has been rewarding, allowing us to be more creative and innovative, and understand the marketing landscape.
Project: Innovation Culture
The Future of ...
I had been at Dieste.Inc for a little over a year. I had landed from a gig at Ogilvy where one of my roles, apart from digital creative strategy, was to infuse innovation culture to the campaigns the agency was working on. I was eager to use my passion to help Dieste succeed, knowing innovation is essential for success in the rapidly changing marketing industry.
The benefits of innovation culture for an agency are enormous. From increased creativity and problem-solving to improved products and services, making agencies more competitive. And, most importantly, innovation is excellent for retaining top talent and improving employee morale.
I believe that this mindset allowed the agency to shine in various advertising festivals, based on some of the learnings obtained through these innovation briefs we worked on.
Allowing the agency to be invited to publish 2 white papers by the renowned PSFK thinktank. Both of these papers were published in their “Future of Retail” and their “Future of Health” publications.
It also gave the agency great PR coverage and several project leads. This practice allowed us to win prestigious advertising awards without any scope of work.
The invitation came via email. PSFK was looking for ideas, possibilities or points of view from diverse creative sectors. The brief was simple; to imagine the future of retail and the objective for us was clear; to be part of the selected projects to be published.
When PSFK invited us to participate in their "Future of Retail" report, we were thrilled. The brief was simple: imagine the future of retail. We dreamed up a shopping cart assistant, a Latina mom's best friend that would make shopping easier and more efficient. We also participated in PSFK's "Future of Pharma" report, developing a concept for a personal assistant that would provide people with simple and preventive diagnoses based on their voice or other abnormalities.
Project: Voice Assitant
Lola The Mutt
Captivated by the rise of voice interaction, I followed Amazon's innovative work with Alexa closely. As soon as the technology became available, I knew I wanted to explore its potential in bridging the gap between humans and machines or in my case, humans and brands through technology.
One key limitation I identified in Amazon's approach was the requirement for users to physically download voice apps. Soon after, Google entered the scene with their Assistant, offering a significant advantage: any developer could submit their app for review, and if approved, it would become readily accessible to all Google Home users.
This accessibility was game-changing. Users could now activate voice apps simply by speaking a designated prompt. In our case, the magic phrase was "Hey Google, let me talk to Lola the Mutt."
We decided to take advantage of this technology and apply to one of our pro bono clients, Dallas Pets Alive, a non-profit organization that aims to eliminate the killing of companion animals in North Texas. And give people the experience and benefits of having a dog.
Lola was designed to be a virtual puppy-in-training, engaging users through playful games and trivia focused on responsible pet ownership. Dad jokes sprinkled throughout the experience entertained children while subtly highlighting the benefits of pet companionship.
At its core, Lola aimed to empower potential pet parents with the confidence and knowledge necessary for a successful adoption. By providing information on dog care and showcasing real Dallas Pets Alive profiles, Lola helped ensure new owners were well-prepared for the rewarding journey of pet parenthood.