About

 

My name is João and I’ll skip the joke about writing bios.

Since I can remember, I could never really just focus on one single thing.

I’ve been a soccer coach, an almost-professional tennis player, an absolute amateur DJ, a scriptwriter, a film-noir movie director, a social entrepreneur, a tattoo designer, a life coach and barman for a week (to name a few).

After a lot of experimenting, I noticed the only consistent thing about all of this stuff was the creation process. So I made a career out of thinking of ideas. And chose advertising as my playground.

But it all began back in 1990, when I accidentally discovered a 486 intel computer from my uncle at grandma’s place. That kickstarted a journey into indie games, technology and the early days of the internet.

My curiosity for innovation together with a wild imagination brought me to where I am now - crafting stories, campaigns and experiences that leave a lasting impression in people (or so I’d like to believe).

I’ve had the privilidge to work for several international clients at different agencies in Lisbon, Hamburg, Prague and (now) Amsterdam. Recently, the Dutch newspaper Het Parool was kind enough to consider me one of the top 10 creatives to watch out for in the Netherlands (bribe accepted).

D&AD, OneShow, Epica, Lovies, Webbies, The Drum, Spin Awards, FWAs & Awwwards are some of the awards I’m most proud of winning.

I’m now steering the creative helm at one of Europe’s fastest growing advertising agencies, agency of the year at the Lovie Awards (2020) and network of the year at the Webbies(2021): DEPT.

Here’s some of the highlights of the past decade 👇🏻

 

Happy clients

Car2Go, Adidas, Mizuno, Basic-Fit, Unilever, Uber, Uber Eats, Škoda, Converse, Grolsch, Netflix, BMW, Philips, Samsung, G-Star Raw, TUI, Brooks, JBL, Tommy Hilfiger, Fiat, P&G, Johnnie Walker.

 

Pitches won

Philips Global, Brooks EMEA, Polymax EMEA, Uber Eats EMEA, SkyTeam Global, Basic-Fit EMEA, G-Star NL, Chocomel NL, Desperados NL, Adidas (digital), Mizuno Global, Johnnie Walker Eastern Europe.

 

Accolades I can humble brag about

D&AD, Lovies, Webbies
The Drum, OneShow, FWA, Awwwards,
Spin Awards, Global Best Digital Award
Intercontinental Cup Awards, Piaf Awards.


Press headlines

Adweek, Campaign, AdAge, Fonk, Het Parool, Adformatie, The Drum, The Copywriter Collective, LittleBlackBook, O Publico, Dinheiro Vivo, Meios e Publicidade, AdAge, AmsterdamAdBlog.

 

Agency highlights & Talks

”Creative Accidents” at L44 Space, Sofia (Bulgaria)
Webby Awards Network Agency Of The Year 2022-2025 (Dept)
”Gut vs Science” at Golden Drum 2021
Lovie Awards Agency of the Year, 2020-2023 (Dept)
Top 10 Fastest Growing Agencies by Adweek, 2020 (Dept)
SAN Accent Agency of the Year, 2019 (Dept)
”Think Inside The Box” at Dept Festival 2017
Most Awarded Portuguese Agency in Cannes, 2009 (Leo Burnett Lisbon, 11 Lions)
7th Most Creative Agency in the World by Creativity Report, 2009 (Leo Burnett Lisbon)

Get in touch

Call, whatsapp, email or DM sliding:
+31 647 244 239
@joaofai instagram
joaoinacio@hotmail.com