Graduate working as Creative Director for Mercedes-Benz

From Falmouth University to Creative Director for Mercedes-Benz in Latin America, the career trajectory of MA Creative Advertising graduate Santiago Losada is something to behold. So, how did he get here? And what advice does he have for aspiring creatives?

Since graduating from MA Creative Advertising in 2012, Santiago Losada has embarked upon a remarkable advertising career that has seen him work for the likes of Grey London, McCann, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Santiago is currently the Creative Director for Mercedes-Benz in Latin America, focusing on creative strategy and art direction for the company. His work has been featured at creative festivals around the world, such as Cannes Lions, Effie, Ojo de Iberoamérica in Argentina, the Festival el Dorado in Colombia and the Global Awards Club.

We caught up with Santiago to hear a little more about his work with Mercedes, his memories of living in Falmouth and his advice to current students.
 

What are your favourite memories of living in Falmouth?

My memories of living in Falmouth are some of my best. My tutors taught us how to push our creativity even further in different ways. We were always thinking about finding a more interesting way of saying or showing something, which is a lesson that I continue to apply today.

Falmouth is a beautiful place, a small but mystic town where everyone is kind and pasties are everywhere. The people I studied with were lovely. They became great friends who I’d regularly go out to eat, party and have drinks in town with.

I’m planning to travel soon and say hello because it’s a place that had a really positive impact on me.

How did the Creative Advertising MA help you after graduation?

The Creative Advertising MA helped me immediately! Our course leaders encouraged us to pour as much energy into our work as possible, and I think that was reflected in my portfolio after I graduated.

I got my placement at Grey London just a few months after finishing the MA, all thanks to the work I developed during the course.

You need two things to achieve good work: curiosity and craft. Those two things require a lot of time, so I would arrive at the campus at 6.30am every morning to start working.

Then, after Grey, amazing companies like McCann, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi came along, which gave me the opportunity to create good work and get further recognition in the industry. 

Falmouth is a beautiful place, a small but mystic town where everyone is kind and pasties are everywhere.

Can you tell us about a campaign that you’re particularly proud of?

I recently completed a campaign for Mercedes-Benz, a 30-second advert that was made by three teams spanning three different cities: Bogotá, London and Melbourne. The project itself ran in Europe.

I was in Bogotá when the global creative team gave us the opportunity to share some ideas for the ecommerce of Mercedes - they liked them, so we started developing a global campaign.

I felt really proud of the end result because it’s not just the creative work that matters, but the opportunity to collaborate with brilliant creatives from different parts of the world.