Page 44 - Advertising Annual 55

CONTRAPUNTO BBDO
By Claire Bingham
Emotion works. Advertisers understand that consumers are much more likely to remember a brand when they feel a strong visceral response to it. One among the
breed of advertising agencies that like to stir the senses, Contrapunto BBDO is in touch with its feelings. Regarded for its creativity and beautiful print work, the agency is Spain’s most awarded at Festival de Cannes, El Sol and Festival Iberoamericano de Publicidad, with campaigns that have cultivated cachet both at home and abroad. Imagine work that is imbued with meaning and ads that make you smile or weep.
Contrapunto BBDO’s down-to-earth humor and knack for casual conversations appear throughout its portfolio. For example, take its witty TV ads for the Spanish National Lottery. A wistful department store clerk brags about
a brilliant ring from her husband and shows it off to all her cooing coworkers—except the “jewelry” is just a lottery ticket draped across her ring finger. The campaign drives home the idea of dreams so close, you can touch them. Another example is the agency’s latest campaign for Mercedes-Benz, poking fun at a Michelin three-star chef who humbly tries to claim he doesn’t care about stars— until someone steals his Mercedes-Benz “star,” or hood ornament. These ads resonate with our everyday points of vanity and pride, jealousy and desire—the agency gets us.
Creative director Carlos Jorge, who joined the company
as a junior designer in 1998, asserts that the agency’s empathetic personality, evident since Contrapunto BBDO was founded, sets the tone for all brand activity and customer interactions. “The agency is like a school,” he explains. “I learned from former creative director Antonio Montero, and he learned from the creative director before him. There is a certain style to our method of working that is recognizable, and we feel very proud of that. What’s special is that regardless of the people running the agency, the ethos remains the same. We treat consumers as people, and the aim of our work is to touch the heart.”
Now comprising a team of 90 in offices in Madrid and Barcelona, Contrapunto BBDO began in 1974, when the agency’s five founders set up the Madrid office. Entering
a creative golden age, the agency rode the wave of la movida Madrileña (the Madrid movement), a cultural movement that emerged after the death in 1975 of the dictator Francisco Franco and broadened personal freedoms and civil rights. Through the 1980s, the movement embodied the artistic spirit of Spain. Playing a role in the transition to democracy, Contrapunto BBDO led some of the most contem- porary campaigns on the subjects of AIDS, the use of condoms and women’s equality, which had previously been forbidden topics. “It wasn’t about leading any movement,” explains client services director Francisco Ribera de Gracia. “It was about listening to it. We were reflecting how attitudes were changing in this country, making them relevant to many people still anchored to the past.”
As the first agency to be named “International Agency of the Year” in 1989 by Advertising Age, Contrapunto BBDO experienced a long run of creative accolades—then the 1990s financial crash hit. The agency’s business smarts turned the crisis into a minor setback, getting results at a time when sectors such as the automobile industry had lost 50 percent of their market. It was a bad time to advertise a car, but that didn’t stop Contrapunto BBDO.
Mercedes-Benz is now one of the agency’s flagship clients. In the ’90s, “Mercedes-Benz was open to new ideas and wanted to rejuvenate itself,” explains CEO David Coral. “It is easier to launch a new brand than to change the perception of one that is already established, but we needed to reach a new breed of consumer. The main challenge was that the new cars were not yet available to see. We had to convince the audience that the company was changing—without showing any cars. We did this with humor,” says Jorge. The TV ads played out as a series of everyday conversations between friends. “The ads were saying ‘I’m not better. I’m just changing.’ The claim was ‘Something is happening.’” Consumers realized that Mercedes-Benz was transforming simply through video clips showing the reactions of people looking at the new car. The car maker was making fun of itself in an original way—without showing its own product. By putting itself in the consumer’s shoes, Contrapunto BBDO helped to change the perception of the brand.
Contrapunto BBDO supplied the captions and served as the ad agency on all projects shown.
Right: “Many people remain ignorant of the fact that the planet is undergoing extreme climate changes and that such rapid transformations negatively impact the creatures that have grown accustomed to their environments. The World Wildlife Fund Desertification print ads highlight a major problem: the endangerment of species and its cause. The objective was to raise awareness of this issue and influence political leaders to act.” Aurora Hidalgo/ Raúl López, art directors; Félix Del Valle/Aurora Hidalgo/Raúl López, writers; Félix Del Valle/Carlos Jorge, chief creative officers; Verónica Félez, strategist; Paco Ribera, executive director; Javier Luján, manager of graphic design; World Wildlife Fund, client.
44 Illustration Annual 2016