On My Radar: Marco Bezerra
Marco Bezerra, ECD at JWT Dubai, talks mindfulness, social media and the awesomeness of The Matrix.
What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?
I love a couple of campaigns. The Axe Find your Magic spot from 72andSunny Amsterdam is based on such an amazing human truth. I also like the Braille Bricks from LewLara/TBWA Brazil [below].
What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?
I use social media a lot. Instagram is my favourite (follow me @marcobezerra). I am very well connected so I can easily follow the trend in my profile on Facebook. I also like Coloribus for specific researches.
What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?
I bought a subscription to Headspace, an app for meditation. I also have some surveillance cameras to watch my kids playing around at home during the day. I just purchased a Basis watch to track my sleep. Let’s see how it works.
Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?
Instagram. I think I already answered that. But I also like Facebook as a way of connecting to people.
What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?
Headspace for mindfulness, and Spotify.
What’s your favourite TV show and why?
Chefs Table. It inspires me to be creative and think out of the box. I’m in love with real human stories, and the show is so well crafted that I can’t stop watching until the last episode of the season. I also loved House of Cards for the same reasons but in a different way.
What film do you think everyone should have seen?
The first Matrix, for sure.
Where were you when inspiration last struck?
The brain works in a funny way. Because the connections are made when you relax and are not under pressure and stress. Last time I was in the Jiu-Jitsu class I had a couple of ideas.
What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?
The internet. When I started there was only one computer logged in with e-mails in the whole agency. Can you imagine that?
When I was studying design in London I used to spend all my money on phone calls and I wrote a letter every other day to my girlfriend. Look where we are today!
If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?
To have less discussions about selling things and more about building emotional connections between people and brands.
What or who has most influenced your career and why?
Francis Mallmann, the Argentinean chef. He can evoke his human truth and personality in everything that he does.
I also love [astrophysicist] Carl Sagan because of the way he shows us how small we are in this universe. It helps you to understand and question the established truths our religions and society have.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…
I’m a Buddhist, crazy about people, cosmology and philosophy.