Spain: Carlitos y Patricia
The third in a series of four mini profiles on new independent Spanish shops
Having opened its doors way back in 2007, Carlitos y Patricia was one of the frontrunners in this wave of new small shops in Spain. But unlike some of the more recent independent incarnations, this agency launched before the phrase ‘credit crunch’ ever became part of the vernacular.
“Everything was perfect and there was money all around,” laughs Carlitos González. “In our case it was just about wanting to do something else. We felt the agency model was finished for us – not for the agencies themselves, but we wanted to do a personal project.”
Luckily for them, central to that project was staying as a small company, so when the crisis did come knocking they powered on through. Because at Carlitos y Patricia there is no general director, no account executives, or even, in fact, any accounts. Instead they work project by project.
“We knew we wanted to do something about creativity and ideas,” explains Patricia Luján, “because from the beginning we loved working with ideas for communicating something. We love and are good at creating concepts that become notorious for the brands and approach things in a different way.”
“And we wanted to be involved in the process from very early,” chimes in González, “not just at the end and making a commercial. We also like the strategy and working with the client on the products.”
Back at SCPF, their home for six years before going solo, the pair had been instrumental in crafting the brand identity for IKEA in Spain, even directing one of their own commercials, and also the creative concept around the launch of low-cost airline Vueling. And since starting Carlitos y Patricia the pair have tackled an array of different projects. For Ebay Classified, they transformed one of Madrid’s metro stations into the world’s biggest classified bulletin board, posting 22,850 different ads over four weeks. Also, for the Barcelona Science Museum, they helped construct a multimedia time capsule, which has been stored in the museum and will be cracked open in 2159. And they’ve even teamed up with a vineyard to launch a new wine, named JO!
“For the wine we were involved in the concept from the beginning,” explains González. “They had the grapes and we worked on everything from the name, design, tone of voice, position in market – and we’re paid by every bottle they sell as they don’t have the budget. We are paid by our ideas, we don’t earn money on production.”
Another avenue the agency has been exploring too is collaborating with fellow agencies. They’ve already teamed up on creative projects with agencies in Miami, London and Amsterdam, and although they felt that, at first, the Spanish agencies still thought of them as competition, they’re beginning to break into that market, too.
“When it’s about creating new ideas for brands or new brands I think we have a lot to offer,” sums up González. “And we want to have fun working and making ideas and making brands fantastic,” finishes Luján.
CARLITOS Y PATRICIA
Founded: May 2007
Location: Barcelona
Founders: Carlitos González, Patricia Luján (SCPF, W+K Amsterdam, Remo, Contrapunto BBDO)
Clients/Projects: eBay, Muji, Barcelona Council
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- Creative Director Patricia Luján
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