Nicolau Attallah on Growing up Surrounded by Advertising

Nicolau Attallah is a Brazilian-born creative director who believes that great ideas don’t care about formats, they just need the right craft to shine. He has spent more than 15 years in the advertising world, working at agencies like Cheil, Leo Burnett, Jung von Matt, VML and others. Along the way, he has created work for Coca Cola, Nike, Samsung, Opel, P&G, Trade Republic, Disney, Kinder, Nutella, Fiat, Jeep and more.

Nicolau is currently at VML Studio X, shaping work for The Coca Cola Company across all European markets. He loves creative solutions that push craft, culture and technology forward, whether through expectation or surprise.

Nicolau’s work has been recognised by the New York Festivals, Clio’s, ADC, Gerety, Webby and The Lovie Awards, although he still believes awards are just the side effects of having fun problems to solve.

Born and raised in São Paulo, Nicolau studied advertising there, and later moved to New York to dive into design, typography and creative thinking at the School of Visual Arts. That mix of culture and discipline still shapes how he builds ideas today, even though he now lives in Berlin.

“I like challenges, I am obsessed with craft, and I am always trying to make things people actually want to talk about,” he says,

Nicolau sat down with LBB to distill his creative process, why he sees creativity as less of a talent and more as a muscle to refine, and shares insight into his recent Samsung work.

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PERSON

I have always been the kind of person who cannot just look at something and leave it alone. My brain immediately starts pulling at threads, asking why it exists, how it works, and what would happen if I twisted it a little. That is probably why I see creativity less as a talent and more of a muscle. You train it, stretch it, push it until it responds. Taste, though, is different. Taste is that internal compass you are either born with or you are not.

I am naturally an extrovert. I talk a lot, I over explain, I get excited about small things. I am also weirdly structured for a creative. I like frameworks, clarity and when at least one clearly-labeled chaotic folder. But routine kills my curiosity fast. Creativity needs a bit of discomfort, otherwise everything starts to look the same.

When I look for inspiration, I like to go far from my own style. I like wandering into different worlds, as psychological tourism, and I borrow things from each one. That mix of structure, chaos, curiosity and exploration is where I feel most creative.

PRODUCT

When I look at a piece of work, the first thing I pay attention to is its simplicity. I love ideas that feel too obvious in hindsight. The kind of work that makes you think, ‘how did no one see this before?’ Then I look at how it fits the brand. Good ideas can fit anywhere, but great ideas feel like they could not exist without that specific brand.

I also pay attention to how the story is built around the idea. After judging hundreds of case studies, the ones that stay with you are the ones that tell the story clearly, visually and without noise.

My criteria keeps evolving with every new cultural or tech input. And I am enjoying this wave of creativity that is grounded in real business solutions, told in fresh and entertaining ways.

One of my favourite pieces that I worked on was a Samsung campaign for data security. The idea was simple: ‘without privacy, you feel naked’. So, we created a film where people went through everyday situations without pants on. It’s the kind of idea you never expect a client to approve. But they did. It reminded me there is no such thing as an unapprovable idea. It is always a mix of simplicity, brand fit and a bit of luck.

PROCESS

I am always collecting references. Even when I am not on a brief, my brain is scrolling somewhere across social media, design hubs and AI tools that show me things I didn't even know I needed. Muzli is one of my favourite sources of daily inspiration.

I never start from a blank page. I begin with research and with people. Ideas grow faster when different minds push them from different angles. Collaboration makes everything more interesting.

When I am stuck, I go for a walk. Fresh air resets my thinking better than any meeting can.

And when it comes to knowing when something is done, I still ask myself the same thing. Do we ever think it is done?

PRESS

I grew up in Brazil, a place where advertising is like a national sport. Creativity is everywhere. At home, the mix was even richer. My mother worked in interior design and architecture, my father was in politics, so I grew up surrounded by design, communication and storytelling. It makes sense that I ended up in this industry.

Pressure normally sharpens my thinking, but too many ideas at once can be confusing, so I have learned to breathe, simplify and keep only what’s needed to build the narrative.

What really shapes a project is the partnership between agency and client. It should never feel like there are two sides. Creatives need to understand the business’ real problems, and clients need to trust that agencies know how to turn those into ideas that people care about. When both sides meet in the middle, the work always flies.