I met Carlos Suarez about 5 years ago in Cannes. Editor of Brands magazine in the Dominican Republic, he is an Argentinean with a Venezuelan soul and creative passion as if he were an advertiser. Controversial, provocative and incisive, Carlos came to Costa Rica several months ago and interviewed key players in the advertising world in the country.
When he returned to the big festival in the south of France this year, he put in my hands the result of his two weeks of interviews in a document he titled simply C. On low-cost printing and heavyweight plastic-coated paper, he transcribed the recorded answers. Without any editing or make-up, just as each question was answered, Suarez has compiled a bracingly straightforward document that I consider to be of great value.
After reading all the installments, I noticed that a paragraph of mine fit like a glove for one of the interviewees. I transcribe the first part of one of my answers: “No, that’s a lie. They are inventions of ardent losers who do not recognize their mistakes and shortcomings, underestimate the competition and when they least realize it, they have to invent stories that are nothing more than fantasies to anesthetize their frustration.” For now, and as long as it is not published material, you draw your own conclusions for now.
In the order of appearance in C, the interviewees were: José Coto of Bosz Digital, Ramiro Casó and Carlos Jiménez of Crea Draft FCB, Mari Stella Fernández of Eureka, Gustavo Loría of Fullfierros, Annie and Paula Cubillos of Grafos, Gustavo Halsband of HWP, Marianne Bakit of Ideas, Alberto Quirós of jotabeqú, Javier Navajas of JWT, Christian Glenewinkel of Marte, Luis Urrutia of Ogilvy, Carlos Fonseca of Publimark, Jorge Oller of Tribu DDB and Arnaldo Garnier of Grupo Garnier.
The questions were repeated in many cases, although the answers were as different as the interviewees. We found from the honest candor of sincere people, most of them, to the noxious ardor of resentful people. You find from the most global approaches to the most local visions, and so, as in an apothecary’s shop, there is chili and butter.
As I only received one copy, and Alberto Quirós has another one, the content of the publication is still the intellectual property of Carlos Suárez. Until I have the public and open document, I will not refer to its content, although I anticipate that it will be a trigger for a process in which I trust it will open spaces for discussion, clarifications and confrontations, as well as to retract, reconcile and build.
In particular, Carlos Suarez: I await the moment of publication. Go on, let it roll! In fact, if you, dear reader, would like a copy or want to encourage Carlos to release it to the public, leave him a message here or write to him at usted@codetel.net.do . He is still hesitating whether he wants to move forward or just leave it as an exploratory exercise.
The work done by the foreign journalist has the virtue of being raw, realistic and untouched. It is brutally honest and simply direct, transcribing what was said and leaving no room for interpretation. It is a kind of informality that achieves formality and personally I think it adds value. It’s a very good exercise, and I think I should repeat it.
