Adweek - 26.08.2019

36 AUGUST 26, 2019 | ADWEEK

®

STEPHANIE SIBBALD

TALENT POOL

Laura Visco

HOW 72ANDSUNNY’S

DEPUTY ECD IS CREATING

MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR

WOMEN IN ADVERTISING.

BY NICOLE ORTIZ

Laura Visco started off her
career “failing terribly” after
she moved from Argentina
to London and dealt with all
the challenges that came
with it: from learning English
to starting over without
connections. But that didn’t
stop her from excelling,
becoming deputy ecd at
72andSunny Amsterdam—as
well as a voice for younger
creatives and those often
overlooked in the industry.
“Experiencing that
struggle firsthand made me
a better professional and

a better, more empathetic

manager,” said Visco. “The

harder the path, the better

you get.”

And Visco’s path certainly

wasn’t easy. In lieu of a

specialty school or degree

focusing on advertising, she

dove headfirst into her career,

focusing on getting hands-on

experience. “The way we teach

creativity is broken,” said Visco.

“We create case study editors,

not communicators.”

In addition to her work for

72andSunny, Visco founded

InVisible Creatives, a database-

turned-movement that Visco

runs with Anomaly associate

creative director Maddy

Kramer. The initiative aims to

change the narrative around

women creatives “to give a new

perspective, because aspiring

female creatives can’t look up

to a problem—they can look

up to brilliant minds, though,”

Visco explained.

Through InVisible Creatives,

agencies and recruiters can

search for women in the

industry to hire for their open

junior-, mid- and senior-

level positions. Not only will

this help balance out the

gender inequality in creative

departments, but it’ll also

extend through the entire

advertising industry—at

least, that’s the hope. The

group also hopes to reframe

the conversation across the

industry by focusing on the

qualified female talent rather

than the need to meet a quota

in agencies.

Taking it one step further, at

this year’s Cannes International

Festival of Creativity, InVisible

Creatives teamed up with

Adweek to create a space

at the festival for younger

female creatives, especially in

a space that often prioritizes

only sending executive-level

staff. Visco and Kramer started

off by calling on agencies

to bring more women to

Cannes, particularly younger

talent. The Adweek-InVisible

Creatives event connected

these younger creatives with

senior creatives, offering them

the chance to develop their

careers by attending Cannes

and also reaping the benefits

of learning from prominent

industry executives.

Big Mistake

“My biggest failure was that

I didn’t ask myself the right

questions before moving to

London,” explained Visco.

“I was promised to work on

really good briefs, but I ended

up on a toilet paper brand!”

Lesson Learned

“Eventually, nothing

really is a mistake. Just a

miscalculation,” said Visco.

“We learn from failure. And

it’s good for our ego to fail.”

How She

Got the Gig

After meeting Carlo

Cavallone at Cannes in

2014 when he was the

executive creative director

of 72andSunny Amsterdam,

Visco explained that she

had a “weird interview.” She

continued: “I told him that

I hate advertising but love

what advertising can do. It

can be a powerful tool—if

done right.” And even though

she didn’t think the interview

went well, she’s been with

the agency for five years now.

Pro Tip

“We need to encourage

a deep understanding of

what [creatives] can bring

to the industry, from their

personal story and skills,”

said Visco, elaborating on

why a specific advertising

education shouldn’t be a job

requirement.