Let's hear it for our latest Tongaler of the Month, ideation genius, Federico Fracchia! Federico lives in Buenos Aires and studied literature before going to film school. Read on to learn about his creative process, his gift for dreaming up funny Ideas and tons of incredibly fun facts that prove he's the coolest guy we know!
Izzy Francke: What is your creative and/or writing background?
Federico Fracchia: Well, I’ve always loved reading and writing, and I actually studied Literature (you’d call it “English”) as my major for a while, but then switched over to film school and got my degree in that instead.
IF: That's cool! Since you're one of our international Tongal stars, we're curious to know, what is the artistic community like in Buenos Aires?
FF: Especially regarding the film and advertising worlds, it’s actually quite huge. There are a ridiculous amount of people studying these disciplines and working in these fields, and a lot of foreign ads are actually shot here due to lower costs, coupled with a huge supply of highly regarded professionals.
IF: That's fascinating... How did you find Tongal?
FF: I honestly have no idea… but I do remember my first contest: submitting Ideas for Suavitel… and winning, right off the bat! They even made a TV ad! Talk about beginner’s luck! Right then and there, my mind was blown.
IF: I'd say it was mainly pure talent with a splash of beginner's luck! You’ve come up with a ton of awesome and winning Ideas. In your opinion, what makes a good Idea?
FF: I think a good Idea always tells a bigger story, and it manages to somehow feel larger than the 30 seconds it’s supposed to happen in. The good ones also challenge and surprise not only the viewer, but also the brand, showing a side of them they didn’t know they had or had never thought about. That doesn’t mean an Idea has to be controversial or shockingly different to be good… just unexpected, but in a way that clicks and feels like it totally belongs there.
IF: That's very insightful. Where do you get your inspiration? What’s your creative process like?
FF: As for inspiration, I’m not quite sure. I do watch a lot of films and TV shows, so I guess most of it comes from there, especially when it comes to humor. I love listening to comedy podcasts, watching stand-up specials, sketch shows! It can be anything, from the classics like Monty Python (which I’m a huge fan of) to weirder, current stuff, like Comedy Bang Bang! or Nathan for You. As for my creative process, it always starts as a back and forth with my girlfriend, Lola Ferré (also on the site), just bouncing ideas off each other. She’s great at a more traditional style of ad, so her ideas are always so different from mine that it’s immensely productive for me to just hear her out first, and build from there. And when we’re really stuck, we find that ping-pong is incredibly effective for just zoning out and letting new ideas flow through.
IF: It's great that you two collaborate! We were impressed with your double win for “Sorry about that, son” and “Why can’t you be smarter?!?!” on the Oral-B Pro-Expert Video Project. How did it feel to win twice? Do you prefer one Idea over the other?
FF: That was a good one. I definitely prefer the “Sorry about that, son” Idea. That’s probably one of my all-time favorites, in that it’s just a little bit too weird and a little bit too mean to have been picked… but it was! I just wish it had been made into an ad… it could’ve been so funny. When it comes to humor, I find that you either “click” with a brand or you don’t… And that’s when you can win more than once. I think this was actually the 3rd time I won twice in the same contest, and they were all humor-based projects (Virgin America and Miller Lite were the other ones).
IF: That's an interesting perspective. What’s your favorite Idea you ever submitted?
FF: Well, this previous one is definitely up there but apart from that one, it’s usually the ones they don’t pick, some of which I really love. Right now, I’m thinking of one that was called “Adventures of Jim, the Mile Redeemer,” for Virgin America, which said something like “Guy calls airline to redeem his miles: Sure, you'll just need to fill form A52c in Korean, go to Mt Doom, find the Lost Gem, defeat Krom etc”. I don’t know why, but that one still makes me laugh!
IF: That definitely would have been entertaining to see brought to life in a Video! What would be your dream Project on Tongal?
FF: Well, I’m actually also a filmmaker, only I’m much more used to documentary-style stuff than traditional ads, so any globally-oriented documentary-style Project, I’d definitely jump right in. As for Idea Projects, anything involving humor is too much fun to call work. But it can’t be just a lukewarm, family-friendly style of humor, I’m talking about those few Projects where they’ll give you a great premise and just let you run wild with it. Every time that happens, that’s my dream Project. That, or just coming up with 5 or 10 new Taken movies, until everyone is taken. Even you!
IF: Haha – we would be honored to be featured in "Taken: Team Tongal" when you write it! What are your daily must-reads?
FF: I think the only thing I read daily is my Reddit feed and sometimes Quora, and there’s usually something interesting in there that I just need to know more about. Then, I end up just browsing away into the unknown, usually into Wikipedia, and I’ll spend hours just reading about astronomy or history or genetics or whatever. As for actual books, right now I’m finishing The 4 Hour Workweek and do not know what my next book will be.
IF: Wow, well winning on Tongal will definitely help you achieve the 4 hour work week! Tell us a fun fact or surprising hobby about yourself.
FF: Let’s see… I’ve been playing the trumpet for a couple of months now. I’m a black belt in Taekwondo. I think I still have a license to drive motorboats. I’m pretty sure I saw a UFO with my dad once, and no, we were not tired, drunk or in desperate need of attention. I studied Chinese for a year, went to China, did not understand a single word, loved it all the same. What else? Oh yeah, my whole family and I were once in an elevator with Ethan Hawke. We played it cool, don’t worry.
IF: Whoa - you could write a memoir based on those facts alone! What’s next for you, on Tongal or otherwise?
FF: Right now, I’m putting together 2 new ads for other video contest sites, and I’m bringing a producer and some other people into Little Jerry Ideas, my soon-to-be-officially-launched production company, so I can start focusing more on directing and producing higher quality ads, so hopefully you’ll be seeing my filmmaking side on Tongal pretty soon!
IF: We're looking forward to it! Do you have any advice for other Tongalers who want to be ideation royalty like you?
FF: Take the time to read the Brief carefully, not just once but a couple of times, looking for keywords and trying to separate what the brand really really wants from what they’re putting in there just in case. And always try to read it a while before the deadline… like the day before. And then just leave it alone, don’t overthink it, just let it marinate in your head for a while. Your brain solves any riddle if you just leave it alone and give it some time. When you finally do sit down to write, you’ll be amazed at how many great ideas you’ve already got, just waiting to be written.
Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom with us. Team Tongal is so glad we got to know more about your creative work…we can’t wait to see your next Tongal Project!
