Creative Insights is an AdNews series investigating and uncovering the secrets of the creative side of advertising.
Tristan Velasco: executive creative director/co-founder at Chello
How did you fall into the industry? Was it deliberate or a misstep?
It was a mix of the two. I’ve always been creative, my father was an artist and musician, which played a big part of our childhood, and those genes were split between my younger brother and I. He was the musician and I became the artist. I excelled in art and was fairly confident that I’d get into my first preference at the College of Fine Arts after school, but I was rejected. My second preference was VisComm at UTS, which opened me up to a whole new way of expressing creativity - something tells me it was the wiser choice.
What’s your secret sauce for commercial creativity?
I’ve always had a hunger to learn new things, and I guess as a result I see myself as a multi-disciplinarian, and as a co-business owner, it’s not just limited to being typically “creative”. I think this has formed a more rounded view of both the commercial and creative components of an idea, balancing what needs to be pushed vs what needs compromise. As projects are getting pushed from all sides, we need to be smarter about how we deliver great ideas.
What’s the biggest hurdle now for creatives?
I think the lines between specialists are blurring, there’s an emerging group of powerful creatives who specialise in everything. While this may be a result of greater access to resources and tools, there still needs to be a hunger to understand design fundamentals, and critical thinking.
Do you wear the black t-shirt uniform or are you a nonconformist?
I seem to have every type of t-shirt other than black.
Can commercial creativity only take place in a room full of people in black T-shirts?
I think everyone, whatever skillset or experience you have, has a perspective and has a story to tell - otherwise we’d be robots. As creatives it’s our job to filter those perspectives, connect the dots and develop ideas. There have been many occasions where those that have identified as ‘non-creative’ have ended up sharing rich and passionate insights.
What was the latest campaign that you worked on that you really enjoyed?
My Muscle Chef’s ‘Take Back Sundays’ that we launched in late 2023. This was a particular stand out because we developed their brand strategy four years ago, and were invited back to pitch for the 2023 campaign work. Not only did we win the pitch, but also delivered a brand refresh that doubled down on the work we did many years ago and has seen phenomenal results to date. The campaign was built on the insight of “Sunday scaries”, but also had a deep connection to the founder’s origin story of Sunday Meal Prep.
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