The Way José Miguel Sokoloff Sees It

José Miguel Sokoloff, 50, is president of Lowe Worldwide’s global creative council and chairman of Lowe SSP3 Colombia. He tells Diana Goodman about the rewards of persuading rebel fighters to live in peace and how advertising is both a flower attracting a bee and the smell of rotting food.

I live in my home city of Bogotá. I have lived here for as long as I can remember, and this is where I feel I belong. My children go to the same school that I went to; I live 10 blocks away from where I grew up.

I walk to work and wake up early every day to have breakfast with my children before they go to school. I travel quite a lot, but I try to return for weekends and special dates. My wife holds our family together and is my confidant. She is the rock on which I stand.

When I look in the mirror I see a man who looks older than me, but stronger. Usually there are kids jumping around playing or fighting about some small toy. The guy in the mirror is a dad, a home cook and a husband. Not a global creative director. Just a human being.

In my childhood, I was a privileged child who had everything. Love, family, toys, space, freedom, discipline, candy, pets, a room of my own, a good education and no soft drinks at home.

My mum ran the cultural programmes of a large bank and my father was a chemical engineer who had his own consulting firm. Most of the time I got on with them very well. I was, however, punished regularly for the usual reasons children get punished.

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