Alberto Ponto and Ryan O’Rourke led the global Nike team at Wieden+Kennedy for almost twenty years, creating some of the most memorable ads of all time, including Nike: Find Your Greatness, Nike: Dream Crazy, Nike: You Can’t Stop Us, Nike: Seen It All (directed by & starring Spike Lee), Nike: Risk Everything, Nike: Fate (directed by David Fincher) and Nike: Human Chain.
In March last year, they founded Someplace, a boutique agency that uses creative excellence to tell unique stories.
Now they are sharing their secrets for creating impactful and effective campaigns with Method, an educational project created by Caio Mattoso, senior creative director at BBDO LA, that features intimate conversations with leading professionals in advertising and design, exploring in detail how each of these people work.
The content is generated from several hours of conversations captured on video, then edited into 1 to 5 minute clips and posted on the project’s Instagram profile, where the creatives share their views on topics ranging from technique, storytelling, ideation hacks to dealing with pressure and failure.
In addition to O’Rourke and Ponte, the project has already published interviews with Marcello Serpa – recipient of the Saint Mark’s Lion – and Pedro Izique. With the aim of creating a legacy for the industry, the project has already confirmed the participation of other leading creatives such as Bianca Guimarães, ECD & partner at Mischief; Kevin Mulroy, ECD & partner at Mischief; Guillermo Vega, CCO at Ogilvy NY; Gabriel Schmitt, global CCO at Grey; Felipe Ribeiro, CCO at W+K Portland; Bruno Oppido, group design director at W+K Portland; and Hal Curtis, legend and former creative director at W+K Portland.
“I sit down with them and ask how they think, create, present, and bring their ideas to life. I try to explore how they run productions, lead teams and make decisions. The idea behind Method Studio is not to be just another interview podcast. It is about trying to get to the bottom of how these people work when it comes to getting the job done,” Caio explained.
In addition to the video content, which is shared publicly on the project’s Instagram account, Method also offers a subscription newsletter that summarises the guest’s key takeaways across different themes.
“Little by little, new guests join, and the library grows. But there’s no rush. The priority is to produce relevant content that matches the calibre of the guests and is not redundant to what is already out there,” Caio added.
Watch interview in 49 bite-sized videos, organised into 5 parts (some videos by subscription only).
Here is the content summary:
Part 1. Foundations & Mindset (Free Preview)
Alberto’s Creative Call / Ryan’s Creative Call / On Dealing with Failure / A Hack To Deal With Pressure / On Competition / Discipline Gives You Peace of Mind / On Insecurity / A Hack to Deal with Insecurity / On Insecurity Burn-Out / Work With Who Are Better Than You
Part 2. Concepting (Free Preview)
On Briefs / First 24 Hours Tackling The Brief / On Working With References / On Creating Volume / Ideating Hack: Do The Opposite / Ideating Hack: Say The Obvious / Ideas Are Like Charming People / On Quick Turnaround / On Brain Farts / Will Anyone Care About That? / On Deadlines
Part 3. Craft (Paid-Subscribers Only)
On Manifestos / From a Manifesto To “Jogger” / The Role Of Chance In Jogger / On Pushing For The Right Casting / Craft It To The Extreme / The Craft Behind “You Can’t Stop Us” / On “Dream Crazy” & Not Giving Up / Craft The Music On “Human Chain” / On Crafting The Music / When The Song Leads The Script / What To Look For In a Treatment / “Best Athlete Ever” & Limited Budget / Point Of View Vs. Craft
Part 4. Presenting Work (Paid-Subscribers Only)
On Presenting Work / The Right Number Of Ideas To Present / On Presenting “Human Chain” / On Presenting “Jogger” / On Presenting “Dream Crazy” / The Risk Of Presenting Too Well
Part 5. Creative Direction & Leadership (Paid-Subscribers Only)
The Role Of a Creative Director / Fast Decisions In Creative Reviews / Tricks When Reviewing Work / What To Look For In a Creative Review / One Vs. Many Teams Ina Project / On Portfolios & Hiring Creatives / Getting On The Client’s Team / What Makes a Good Client / Make Meetings To Push Meetings / Note On Pushing Meetings
