Let’s look at the political situation from another angle.
How far can you go breaking molds? Gonzalo Figari, a world-renowned creative, sheds light on what the political campaign for the next elections will be – or in any case should be.
He says that being the youngest of 7 brothers and having a 7-year difference with the last of them, he had no choice but to create his own worlds, games and conversations, even with imaginary friends. He didn’t know where he wanted to go, theater, film or acting, but when his work life began to lean toward the family business—a paper converter where he didn’t like working—he found his own way out. It appeared, precisely in the form of an advertisement. He was looking at the newspaper while his father asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up and there he read aloud: “enter the fascinating world of advertising.” The choice could not have been more correct.
An anecdote paints it in full. It happened a few years ago, when attending international festivals was quite an investment. He was constantly awarded for his campaigns, but he noticed that it cost the same to participate in those events as it did to take his entire team to Cozumel. So, the following year, the entire company—35 people—packed their bags and traveled to the Mexican island to sunbathe. Completely inspired and relaxed, they sent an informative note to the sector media with the headline: “Better to be a tanned agency than a burned agency” and that year they were awarded as the most creative in Spain, without spending a cent on the festival.
Today Figari, who not long ago tried to recreate childhood games, but the position—he explains—“is not easy,” confesses that he is selective with the advertising campaigns he runs today. He considers that the time he spends working is time he takes away from his family, so he only works with those who do things well. “Likewise, the idea is never to do things that are easy or simple, but rather to reinvent the wheel each time. This is the world of differentiation.”
You say that your favorite award was the recognition of some students from Valencia, what does that award have that the others don’t have?
These are the students of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University of Valencia. One day Isabel, the director of the advertising observatory, called me to invite me to give a talk. She told me that it was a very important talk. For me it has always been important to be close to people who are starting out in this world of advertising, it is like giving back part of what has been received. Upon arriving at the University I meet Isabel at the door, she tells me: what you are going to experience is very strong, I remember that I was on the train negotiating a European campaign and my mind was in another place, but suddenly, I saw a line with hundreds of students from the door of the university until I reached the main hall, corridors, stairs, more corridors, all with students who were applauding me and I could not believe what was happening. If ever in my career I felt like a ROCK STAR it was that moment. When I arrived at the classroom, a series of teachers and students gave me a plaque as an “admired professional.” It was without a doubt the most beautiful award of my life to date.
You have recently done an advertising campaign in Peru to escape the stress of Javier Prado. Is this what we Peruvians need, to escape from reality, from its politicians, from chaos?
Well, the campaign “Escape from Javier Prado for the Hotel Las Dunas de Ica” has been successful and had a great impact, but above all it has been very effective. Maybe that’s what politicians should promise, effectiveness. We Peruvians are tired of politicians without vocation, people who are trying to make deals with the money of all Peruvians. I hope voters get tired of political talk and vote for proven truths.
What do you expect from the upcoming political campaign?
I hope that instead of talking and talking and promising and promising, politicians listen to the people and sign a pact to do what the people ask of them. Hopefully this will be a campaign of listening, not promising.
What should Peruvians demand in relation to the next elections?
We must demand clear government plans. Extreme honesty. We want politicians to tell us what they are going to do and how they are going to do it. We want to know how much money they take office with and how much money they will leave in their personal accounts.
Abroad, do you find good things in political campaigns?
Honestly nothing. Lots of mud. A lot of demagoguery. Although I have seen something that has caught my attention, like an AI that when you focus your cell phone screen on any candidate, senator, mayor or president, it tells you how many criminal cases he has or how many crimes he has committed. In an easy way we can all remove the masks of the corrupt.
Do you think that something can change in Peru, after the departure of Dina Boluarte?
Let’s hope so. We are hitting rock bottom. Crime is rampant. The insecurity. The corruption. A radical change is needed. Otherwise the little hope we have left will fly out the window of our van.
If you lived in Peru again, why would it be?
I would go back because my father is 95 years old and I would like to see him every day. Because I have three brothers that I adore and who live there. For all the new dishes they invent at the La Mar restaurant that I’m missing. Why I would love to go to Maido or Fiesta once a week. Because chatting with my friend Virgilio is very nutritious. Because I want my 8-year-old son who was born in Spain to learn more and more to love Peru. Why I am a fan of the ‘U’.
And, why wouldn’t you want to live in Peru again?
Because I’m afraid of having a cardiovascular accident and dying in an ambulance stuck in traffic on Javier Prado. Because my company has its headquarters in Madrid. Because I love going to the Chamartín market and buying a tuna belly that doesn’t even exist in Japan. Because I love walking from my house to work talking on the phone without fear of it being stolen. Because I love getting on a train and in a few hours being anywhere in Spain or getting on a plane and moving to other cities in Europe in a few hours. Because I am a fan of Atlético de Madrid.
