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2 Minutes With … Manuel Bordé, Global CCO at VMLY&R Commerce
On Oreo's Stuf Scan, Pril's one-drop bottle, and leaning into the life side of work/life balance
Manuel Bordé is global chief creative officer for VMLY&R Commerce, accelerating the delivery of creative commerce at the intersection of physical, digital and social.
We spent two minutes with Manuel to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations, and recent work he’s admired.
Manuel, tell us…
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
I grew up in Bogota, Colombia. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York.
How you first realized you were creative.
In school, I was usually being called into the principal’s office because I was in trouble. One day I got called into the principal’s office because they needed me to make a fun play for Teachers Day.
A person you idolized creatively early on.
A moment from high school or college that changed your life.
When I was in my second year of college, I won a student ad contest that landed me my first internship at Ogilvy in Bogota; I never went back to college.
A visual artist or band/musician you admire.
Freddie Mercury and the band Queen.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.
I recently watched and liked Station Eleven. Probably because it struck a post-pandemic hope nerve.
Your favorite fictional character.
Michael Scott, regional manager, Dunder Mifflin.
Someone or something worth following in social media.
@TaylorLorenz on Twitter, keeps me up to date with Gen Y/Z … and feeling old.
How Covid-19 changed your life, personally or professionally.
The whole “work-life balance” got heavily tilted towards the latter. I love my job, but I love my life even more ;).
One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.
The One-Drop Bottle for Pril. Full of problems from beginning to end, from a disastrous first prototype that exploded on the way from China to having to manually inject soap into hundreds of miniature bottles for sampling.
A recent project you’re proud of.
Oreo Stuf Scan. Creative commerce at its best with brand, culture and commerce intersecting. Also, first Clio for VMLY&R Commerce USA.
Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.
Someone else’s work you admired lately.
Bianca Guimaraes, and all the fun work coming out of Mischief @ No Fixed Address.
Your main strength as a creative person.
Resilience.
Your biggest weakness.
It’s very easy to grab my attention, but really hard to keep it.
One thing that always makes you happy.
Food!
One thing that always makes you sad.
The fact that Colombia won’t be playing in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.
I’ve asked myself this a couple of times. No idea. I’d say anything food-related. Food blogger/critic.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
Jessica MacAulay is a contributor for Muse by Clio. She's also a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder's College of Media, Communication, and Information.
