Creatives You Should Know 2013: Rafael Guida

Rafael Guida proves that standout ideas don't require obnoxious budgets. That was the case with the efforts he created while working in Dubai, like Red Tomato Pizza's VIP fridge magnet that consumers could push to order their favorite pie at a moment's notice, made for just $9000, and an innovative Nissan banner ad that provided users on a popular house-hunting sight with a free test-drive, all the way to their prospective homes, both created out of TBWA/RAAD. He also was behind a remarkable banner ad for Ikea via Memac Ogilvy that the user could resize to reflect decorating options for whatever room shape of their choice. Mr. Guida described the Red Tomato job as "very long and I almost got myself arrested fo importing 'unknown' technology into the country," but "it was a good opportunity to do something fun. We presented an idea no one even knew was possible or not. After talking with over 100 suppliers in China, we finally found someone willing to do a prototype for $300. After that, the only challenge was to secure the patent and reply to all the inquiries we were receiving daily from around the world." Working on such digitally-driven efforts is the equivalent of play for Mr. Guida. "Most people ask me how I keep track of the newest technologies, but it happens to be my hobby," he said. "I collect DIY projects and reach about how things are made. I also like to travel as much as possible because you can only create based on what you see and know. The VIP fridge magnet idea, for example, originated from observing how a bluetooth earpiece works." This year, the Brazilian-born Mr. Guida will get an even broader view now that he's moved to Malaysia, where he's a digital creative director at Ogilvy One Kuala Lumpur, leading new efforts for Heineken, IBM, Pizza Hut and IBM. The big challenge now continues to be small budgets, "but I'm quite used to this by now," he said. Mr. Guida proudly named his portfolio site "Favela," which means "slum" in Portuguese. "All the work was done with budgets small enough to do bad work, but I really believe that with creative solutions, any idea can be brought to life," he explained. "Today, everyone is carrying in their pockets enough processing power to send a rocket into space. My approach is basically to take advantage of all technology out there and connect the dots. That way a small budget can go a long way, and a small idea can become very big."

Creatives You Should Know 2013: Rafael Guida

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