The Work Behind the Work.
Marcelo has been doing this long enough to know the best part of the job is the moment when an idea goes from sounding slightly ridiculous to feeling completely inevitable. He’s spent most of his career trying to shorten the distance between those two things.
He’s an art director by trade. First, he went to University of Florida (Go Gators!), then Miami Ad School for portfolio school (Go Ideas!), and for the past two decades, he’s built a career around big ideas, talented people, and the occasional leap of faith required to make both better.
Some of those have won Cannes Grand Prix. Twice. Some of those, and others, also won One Show, D&AD, The ANDYs, the Effies, the Emmys, the Webbys, and even found their way into A Netflix Documentary Series, Untold: The Rise and Fall of AND1. He’s also served as a judge on a number of awards shows. All of which mostly confirmed two things: smart, gutsy work is rarer than it should be. And Marcelo has strong opinions about kerning.
His instincts have always pulled toward the unexpected. Whether it lives on social, in film, out in the world, or somewhere no one has quite named yet, he’s drawn to ideas that find people rather than wait for people to find them.
He’s been chasing that feeling across Nike, Coca-Cola, American Express, Kraft Heinz, the NBA, and others. Different brands, different problems, same conviction: a good idea can earn a real place in culture.
Marcelo thrives in collaborative environments but is equally comfortable working solo or leading a team. And one of the things he’s genuinely most proud of is the relationships he’s built with clients, partners, and teams.
He’s found that great work comes from trust and a shared obsession. And/or occasionally someone in the room willing to say “Monday, Tuesday, Thursday” until everyone figures out what’s missing.
Or gets that reference…
Marcelo sincerely believes his best work is still ahead of him, which is why he wants to replace everything in his portfolio with something better. That’s not a humble brag. It’s the job in a “what-have-you-done-lately” industry.
As a Paraguayan (landlocked, constantly confused with other “-guayans,” and extremely confident about empanadas), he stands firm on two things:
1- Flour empanadas beat corn empanadas, and…
2- He is almost certainly the only Paraguayan you will ever meet.
When he’s not making “ads,” Marcelo is spending time with his wife, son, twin girls, and their two dogs, Pat Riley and Manolo, and recapping every podcast he listens to…to whomever will listen.
If you’ve made it this far, reach out and say hello sometime.
c: +1 (646) 678-1888
e: oneLnotTwo@gmail.com