Keka Morel appreciates society’s commitment to guidelines
At different times in my career, I have seen machismo from different angles.
More inclusiveness, fight against prejudice, respect for differences. Publicly protected guidelines force transformations that change the purpose of advertising. The work of informing people is becoming important and is recognized as one of the most effective services provided by the communication industry today.
The industry is finding the sensitivity to demand, engage and connect with women leaders. “I like to see myself in charge of putting the agency in the forefront of society’s important commitments and agendas,” affirms Keka Morel, CCO of Wunderman Thompson and one of the honorees of this Special, prepared to celebrate International Women’s Day.
From Avon’s repositioning to Alfabeto and Love bottle promotions, both developed for Coca-Cola, Keka Morelle-led projects seek to create cultural meaning for brands. At the core of Netflix, tuntum and the Stranger station bring more evidence of creative media work that engages brands in the conversation.
Keka also mentions the Let it flow campaign created for Johnson & Johnson’s Semper Livre brand. According to the executive, this action won all the awards it competed in last year, a total of 32 awards.
“These are just a few examples of how we believe that any brand communication opportunity is an opportunity to create engagement, conversations and be part of a community’s culture,” he comments. Driven by integrated and collective solutions, gaucha brings media, content, influence, strategy and production together to solve a client’s business problem, in addition to fostering co-creation and learning.
Global strategic projects with local involvement are among the most attractive challenges. “I love finding the perfect connection between brands and people and building unique ways for this relationship,” explains Keca, the only Brazilian to chair the 2023 D&AD Awards jury in the Art Direction category.
Acknowledgment
The work resulted in awards such as Grand Play YouTube Works, Dignity to Stream campaign. Wunderman Thompson, the agency that won the most awards in the first edition of the TikTok Ad Awards, is building its creative reputation in a diverse way. “We are not a one-size-fits-all agency,” says Keka. He points to his pride in “seeing the agency’s leading awards that demonstrate maturity in creating conversations between brands and people,” he reiterates.
The agency manages the worldwide movements of Coca-Cola, J&J and Nestlé. Part of the World Creative Councils, Keka has been a member of the international jury since 2006. “From my point of view, the local perspective is very important, but the integration with the global vision of the brand and the world is important,” he says.
sexism and career
In 28 years of experience, Keka still sees sexism in advertising. “At different times in my career I have seen machismo through different aspects and influences. It has always existed and, unfortunately, we still have to fight against it,” he claims.
Married and mother to João and Tomás, both 10, Keca earned a degree in public relations and advertising from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul. She also has a postgraduate course in fashion at Santa Marcelina in São Paulo.
It started in Porto Alegre (RS), Dez Propaganda. In 2000, he arrived in São Paulo to work for FCB. Then he moved on to Fisher and JWT.
In 2005, he accepted an offer from F/Nazca, where he remained for six years as artistic director. He was promoted to creative director of DM9 in 2011. He left for AlmapBBDO in 2015 where he worked for four years before leaving to take up the role of CCO at Wunderman Thompson in 2019.
