Nova Entrevista: Alberto & Ryan
Os Diretores de Criação por trás dos trabalhos mais memoráveis da Nike nos últimos 15 anos. Estréia sexta, dia 10/01/25.
Lembrete rápido. Como dito no último update, os 50% OFF para primeiros apoiadores do projeto termina agora no dia 10.
Meet Alberto & Ryan
At the time of this interview, Alberto Ponte and Ryan O’Rourke are founders and CCOs at Someplace, in Los Angeles. Before opening their own shop, they led the Nike global team at W+K Portland, where, according to Fast Company, they have made some of the best Nike ads for almost 20 years.
Here are a few campaigns they worked on, either as creatives or as creative directors: Nike: Find Your Greatness • Nike: Dream Crazy • Nike: You Can’t Stop Us • Nike: Seen It All (Directed and Starred by Spike Lee) • Nike: Risk Everything • Nike: Fate (Directed by David Fincher) • Nike: Human Chain
What To Expect
We recorded over two hours of content with Alberto and Ryan, broke it down into 49 bite-sized videos, and organized everything into five parts. Below, you’ll find an overview of what is covered in this interview.
Part 1. Foundations & Mindset (10 Clips)
Alberto’s Creative Call / Ryan’s Creative Call / On Dealing with Failure / A Hack To Deal With Pressure / On Competition / Discipline Gives You Peace of Mind / On Insecurity / A Hack to Deal with Insecurity / On Insecurity Burn-Out / Work With Who’s Better Than You
A few quotes from the clips in this section:
“Yes, I guess we are competitive. But one thing we don’t do is look around too much. When we are doing our thing, we are doing our thing.”
“You do need to be constantly thinking of what you’re working on. You need to have the idea in your head, you need to wander around with it (…) and I do think that requires discipline.”
“I think insecurity is a really good friend because it keeps you on your toes.”
“I would sit and stare at my computer and try to force the ideas to come. I swear they never came that way.”
Part 2. Concepting (11 Clips)
On Briefs / First 24 Hours Tackling The Brief / On Working With References / On Creating Volume / Ideating Hack: Do The Opposite / Ideating Hack: Say The Obvious / Ideas Are Like Charming People / On Quick Turnarounds / On Brain Farts / Will Anyone Care About That? / On Deadlines
A few quotes from the clips in this section:
“We always sort of say that the first creative idea is the brief.”
“We don’t put much pressure on the first day. We probably don’t even talk much on the first day.”
“The idea of forcing myself to have to have 10 ideas by the end of the day sounds terrible to me.”
“I feel like ideas are like charming people: when you first meet them, they’re really inviting, but the more layers you dig into the more they reveal themselves.”
Part 3. Craft (13 Clips)
On Manifestos / From a Manifesto To “Jogger” / The Role Of Chance In “Jogger” / On Pushing For The Right Casting / Craft It To The Extreme / The Craft Behind “You Can’t Stop Us” / On “Dream Crazy” & Not Giving Up / Crafting The Music On “Human Chain” / On Crafting The Music / When The Song Leads The Script / What To Look For In a Treatment / “Best Athlete Ever” & Limited Budget / Point Of View Vs. Craft
A few quotes from the clips in this section:
“To write a good manifesto, you need to have an idea before you start writing it.”
“You have to craft things to the extreme—or to the extreme of that idea.”
“So many things have to happen for an idea to be great that I don’t think people should get frustrated when it’s not.”
“With music, you either find it on day one or at the very last minute—and you suffer. It’s one or the other.”
Part 4. Presenting Work (6 Clips)
On Presenting Work / The Right Number Of Ideas To Present / On Presenting “Human Chain” / On Presenting “Jogger” / On Presenting “Dream Crazy” / The Risk Of Presenting Too Well
A few quotes from the clips in this section:
“When I see a 250-page deck and there is just one idea that needs to be bought, I just so suspicious… where is the meat in there?”
“A good presentation is a good idea. That’s all you need.”
“To get the client onboard with that idea we had a deck with all Muybridge motion studies.”
“With “Jogger,” (to sell it) we almost had to make the ad.”
“With Kaepernick (Dream Crazy) it was the opposite. It was getting everyone onboard earlier.”
Part 5. Creative Direction & Leadership (9 Clips)
The Role Of a Creative Director / Fast Decisions In Creative Reviews / Tricks When Reviewing Work / What To Look For In a Creative Review / One Vs. Many Teams Ina Project / On Portfolios & Hiring Creatives / Getting On The Client’s Team / What Makes a Good Client / Make Meetings To Push Meetings
A few quotes from the clips in this section:
“The teams have to feel that you are adding to them. Not that you’re getting in the way or pushing them to do your thing.”
“When we are in a room and we have a bunch of ideas on the floor, we’re pretty good at saying, ‘There’s something there,’ or, ‘There’s not something there.’”
“Some ideas are like a Camry: it’s a great car, it’s affordable, it’ll last forever… but it won’t make you feel anything.”
“The key to pushing a meeting is to make meetings. If you make meetings and deliver for a client, you’ll build a level of trust that when you call them and say ‘we don’t have it’, they will believe you.”
The interview is packed with insights and practical wisdom from two of the best in our craft. I’m sure it’s valuable content whether you’re a creative just starting out or a seasoned veteran in the industry.
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.