Juan Negron y Luis Martinez de Alma
Connecting with some personal experience for a creative idea is perhaps the most effective insight for an ad campaign. Such was the case of creatives Juan Manuel Negron and Luis Martinez of alma, who ended up winners in the Film category of the U.S. Hispanic Young Lions 2023, organized by Circulo Creativo USA. The duo presented Graduation Speech.txt for Wells Fargo. “The brief asked us to convince centennials of the benefit of taking a university degree through the Wells Fargo program CollegeSTEPS. Our argument is summed up as ‘when you get it, your family gets it.’ That was our conclusion after recognizing a tough Latino reality: many immigrants who come to work in the United States have barely finished their Third Grade studies. They work from sunrise to sunset in order to give their kids a better life. A university education is the best chance those youngsters have to go on to help their families: a degree can make all the difference when it comes to financial and professional stability,“ said Juan, an Ecuadorian living in Miami. “We identify with Hispanic immigrants and feel the same emotions about some special event in the U.S. that changes one’s life,” said Luis, a Miami-based Venezuelan.. The two 28-year-old immigrants realize that winning a competition like this gives them a certain professional standing. “Winning this competition means we’re on the right track, that our work makes sense to the public and that they see the potential of our ideas. It challenges us to be better creatives and makes us feel proud to represent our culture around the world,” Luis said. During the project they learned to be more efficient and think in a strategic way. “Avoid exhaustion. Thinking you get an advantage by working double up to the latest hours of the night is not a good strategy. The competition starts off with the right mentality, then works efficiently with a downpour of ideas, creative calls and executions. Getting some good rest leads to good production,” Juan warned.. The winning teams in first place, Casanova//McCann and alma, will travel in order to compete as Team USA Hispanic in the global Young Lions competition in the International Festival of Creativity (Cannes Lions 2023), the leading worldwide celebration of creativity in communications. Wells Fargo sponsored the U.S. Hispanic Young Lions 2023 with the following jury: Rebeca Vargas, head of Marketing for Diverse, Affluent Students, and Emerging Segments at Wells Fargo; Monserrat Valera, group creative director, The Walt Disney Company; Rodolfo Borrel, co-founder & chief creative officer at the Table of Ferrari Borrel; and Leo Macias, former global VP of Marketing and Activation, Prime Video and Studios.
