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What the Hell Am I Doing Here?
May 01, 2005
Paco, as he likes to introduce himself because nobody in the United States can pronounce his surname, Olavarrieta, is the creative partner at OLE, an independent Hispanic advertising shop based in New York.
What the hell am I doing here? This is a question I ask myself frequently here in New York, especially when I'm in the subway, sandwiched between somebody with a backpack in my face and someone who didn't put on deodorant.
But there are other times, too. Like the other day during a meeting, when a client said:
— If you don't play Latin music in the spot, how will Hispanics know it's for them?
To which I replied:
— Because we are delivering them a very relevant message. That's enough.
— OK, but why not do it with Latin music?
And then, the question pops again: What the hell am I doing here?
I didn't worry about this when I first arrived because I thought: "I can always go back to Mexico where I don't have to deal with this." But I have been here for more than eight years, and my partner and I just launched our own Hispanic ad shop, which implies a long-term commitment.
So the decision has been made. Unless God has other plans, the rest of my creative career will be spent in the U.S. Hispanic market and I'm not going back to Mexico ... at least until I retire.
But the moment I realized that this voluntary exile may be for good, was a scary one. (Although something scarier would be going back to Mexico and getting kidnapped!)
Anyway, that's why when the question of "What the hell am I doing here?" came again, I just couldn't ignore it anymore. I needed to find a clear answer.
So I decided to contemplate it and this is what came up:
When I was working in Mexico, I had this dream of coming to the United States and eventually living in New York. Both dreams have come true, thanks to two people very well known in this business to whom I'm very grateful. And then I realized that the only way to pay them back was for me to give this same opportunity to somebody else. I know it sounds corny, but this was one of the main reasons for becoming my own boss — to be on the provider's side for a change.
Now, a provider of what? This is where things get interesting. From my perspective, it's the opportunity to be part of a historic phase in this marketplace. Just look at the timing: The first generation of agencies already opened the path, and now we, the younger shops, have the opportunity to build a highway.
Unlike what has happened in Latin America, where creativity has gone a long way, there is still so much more to be done. And this is the best time to do it.
If you don't think so, then what the hell are you doing here?
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