Each year, the Global Awards recruits some of the world’s most prominent award-winning industry creatives and thought leaders to serve on the Global Awards Grand Jury. Gianpaolo is a Creative Director at McCann Health London. Born and raised in the deep south of Italy, he started his career in small agencies and worked his way up. After moving to Milan, he worked for consumer agencies before transitioning into health; a choice that completely changed the trajectory of his career. In Milan, he worked for 5 years at Sudler & Hennessey on many European and Global brands before making his move across the channel. In London, he worked first for Digitas Health and two years ago moved to McCann Health, where he’s led his team to many award wins, including Clios, Epica, LIA, Creative Floor, Globals, One Show and more.
Global Awards: Is Wellness advertising increasing, if so, how has the market changed within the last few years?
Gianpaolo: Wellness is a trend right now. Brands are trying to find their meaningful role beside their products. It's not about what they sell, it's about where they stand in a complex 2019 society. The new generation wants to know if the detergent they're buying believes in gender fluidity, supports the LGBTQ+ community and is going to ditch plastics anytime soon. It's not just about the product anymore. This is what's bringing brands to create a wider experience around them and wellness is a territory that allows them to do that without being too controversial. It's good though, don't get me wrong, anything that helps the industry is more than welcome. We just need to go beyond the trend.
Gianpaolo: Well, Pharma is the gift that keeps on giving. A few years ago it was a struggle to push the boundaries, now that boundary seems to be pushed constantly. I think it's becoming even more interesting than health and wellness. It's the next holy grail, and it's there for the taking. None of this would have happened without people like Andrew Spurgeon, Tim Hawkey and Shaeed Peera to mention a few. They saw all this coming way before all of us so thank you to them.