![[AdStory] Pedro Bexiga (Fuel Lisbon) and the best advertising advice: "Life is too short to work with sons of bitches"](https://media.iqads.ro/2013/02/photo-large-25040-cover-850.jpg)
Pedro Bexiga (Creative Director, Fuel Lisbon) is one of the most appreciated ad men in Portugal and his 20 years of experience in advertising have taught him how to best sell his ads, as well as his 6 year old son's artwork. Over the years he has worked for EuroRSCG, Leo Burnett and Lowe and has been awarded for his work at Cannes, Eurobest, Epica, One Show, El Ojo, Fiap, LIAA, Clio and Cristal Festival. Fuel Lisbon, the ad agency he co-founded in 2005, is currently ranked among the top three advertising agencies in Portugal and works on some of the biggest accounts in the country, such as Continente Supermarkets, Worten Electronics, Pizza Hut, Volvo Cars and KFC.
He's just renewed his vows with advertising, which he first met early in his childhood years when he enjoyed watching the ads aired during the commercial breaks together with his brother and father. He would rather have studied the art of beer drinking, which he explored during college, instead of taking two years of Computer Science back in high school. He has a neverending passion for advertising as shown by the long list of campaigns and ads he is fond of. Scroll down to see Pedro Bexiga's ad collection.
I grew up on the streets of Lisbon, my hometown.
I grew up in interesting times, after the Revolution (1974) and before joining the European Union (1986). From a period of time during which people lived with difficulties to a period of time during which everybody could fulfill their consumation dreams - thanks to all the credit provided by the European Union - to the present day, when people are having difficulties once again due to the financial crisis.
We are living through tough times…
As a child, I dreamt of becoming a Formula One driver. Scuba diver was runner-up.
The craziest thing I did in high school was study Computer Science for two years. A crazy thing and obviously a big mistake.
In college I was the guy who would prefer being in the next door cafe drinking beer (yes, we do have next door cafes that serve near schools) and talking than in classes. I was always up for a beer. Those were my bohemian days.
Instead of an old picture of me, I've decided to send a recent picture: it is a drawing of me made by my 6 year old son. I think it's brilliant.
Well, I really don't know when I decided I wanted to work in advertising… I was so fascinated by the commercial breaks on the 2(!) TV national channels, that I always thought it should be fun actually creating them myself.
My brother, my dad and I used to play a game while watching TV and that was trying to guess the ads that were playing. Silly as it is, it made me grow even fonder of advertising.
My relationship status with advertising: we've just renewed our vows. Advertising is still the thing I love and it's what I am good at.
What is great about working in advertising is that every job is always different. That and not having to wear a tie.
What is great about our agency is that we don't lay our arms down, we always try to do better.
This is were I work. It's a bit messy.
No picture of the place where we brainstorm. I'm not very fond of brainstormings as I'm not very fond of having meetings all the time. Most of the time it is just a way of reaching common ground and a compromise and I don't like that. During brainstormings the loudest guy stands out more than the brightest guy and that's not what we are looking for.
My favorite place to fish insights from is real life.
My best sources of inspiration are everywhere. Even in chain e-mails.
In my browser history you can find Facebook, newspapers, sports, photography, naked girls, advertising, Image Bank, travel, art blogs.
The most rewarding moment in my career was when Fuel was ranked among the top 3 advertising agencies in Portugal only 7 years after starting from scratch.
The work I am most proud of is our Amnesty International "Mugshots" campaign, that won everything, including a Gold Lion at Cannes.
Great creative campaigns have in common the fact that they are great. That they really stand out. They always have fantastic ideas and they are flawlessly executed.
The best clients are the ones that trust you. You go to them holding nothing but a piece of paper in your hand, you tell them that it's what they need and they believe you.
The worst clients are the ones that only trust themselves.
I feel most frustrated when good ideas never see the light of day. That pisses me off.
In my opinion, the best creative works ever are the ones that create new ground, the ones that endure the test of time.
I don't know if these are the best ever, but they are the ones that immediately pop into my mind. They are not in any particular order.
TV spots:
… and so many others...
Online campaigns:
Print ads:
Unconventional:
Brand Communication
The best piece of advice I ever received from someone in the industry is "Life is too short to work with sons-of-bitches".
