Vini Bustamante: Selling Cars, Beer, and Good Causes

Hailing from the bustling metropolis of São Paulo, Brazil, Vini Bustamante is a talented art director and artist that lives and works in Dublin, Ireland. While his creative work on advertising campaigns of well-known brands, like Bacardi and LIDL, have earned him awards and recognition from industry peers, he also channels his creative talents to tackle societal issues, such as direct provision, homelessness, and the mistreatment of refugees.

I took to Instagram to find migrants in Ireland that are doing big things in their respective fields. During this search, I came across an eye-catching and humorous design of a pint of Guinness sitting on the loo. I scanned the artist, Vinicius, or Vini, Bustamante’s page and saw that he has a diverse portfolio of designs and other creative endeavors.

Some of these designs went beyond mere aesthetics, providing commentary about pressing societal issues in modern-day Ireland, some of which had won awards.

I had a chat with Vini and spoke to him about his life in Ireland, his professional career, and of course, his art.

Background

I began by asking Vini about his formative years in São Paulo, Brazil. He responded, “São Paulo, how can I describe it? So it’s a big city, it’s frantic, it’s messy, but it’s beautiful.”

He describes the city as a “melting pot” which was rife with social injustice and inequality, but credits its chaotic nature and vibrant street art scene for being important catalysts in his artistic development.

From a young age, he recognised that he had a passion for drawing. His creative acumen was recognised by those around him. Around the age of 15, one of his teachers saw him drawing on his school desk and was so impressed that she invited him to teach illustration to children in her Atelier studio.

After school, he racked up nearly 10 years of experience working in advertising agencies with clients as an art director.

In 2016, Vini and his girlfriend, now wife, decided to leave Brazil and live and work in an English speaking country to further their careers. They decided that Ireland would be the best option.

For the first three or four months, he focused his efforts on learning English, doing an intensive course.

After gaining a firmer grasp on the English language, he sent out job applications to various agencies in Dublin, and ultimately secured a position as an art director at the large creative agency, BBDO.

He humorously recalls the first interview, saying “It was so funny, because I probably understood half of what they were saying during the interview. They probably understood half of what I said. But they liked the work. I’m an Art Director, I don’t need to write anything.”

Earlier this year, BBDO merged with TBWA/Dublin, and operates under the TBWA/Ireland brand. Vini currently works as Art Director for TBWA/Ireland, currently one of the largest creative agencies in Ireland.

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His Work as an Art Director

Vini’s advertising portfolio contains advertisement campaigns for some large and recognisable businesses, such as Bacardi, Rockshore Lager, and Lidl.

Bacardi

He worked with Bacardi for 2 years, this was his first account with a major client, a definite feather in his cap and an opportunity he is grateful for. His work with them included: PDUs, activations, packaging to illustration, graphic design and product design.

One part of the job that he enjoyed most was his design and development of Bacardi bars that are located in major stadiums, like O2 London in the UK and SSE Hydra in Glasgow.

LIDL

Another project that he remembers fondly was his work with LIDL. It was 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time which was synonymous with isolation, boredom, and for many, sadness.

LIDL commissioned Vini to illustrate and create a suite of postcards from all 36 counties in Ireland, which featured iconic landmarks and tourist attractions from that locality. The campaign was dubbed ‘LIDL: Staycation Postcards’.

The objective of the campaign was to encourage LIDL customers to live in the moment and to relish some of the summer activities they had planned. These cards were distributed free of charge at every LIDL store across Ireland, giving people the chance to contact loved ones in a unique and memorable way.

The campaign was a success with customers. This was reflected by the many social media posts featuring the postcards Vini had created. Reminiscing about the project, he said “It was a massive amount of work, but in the end, it was pretty amazing.”

The campaign was also recognised by Vini’s industry peers, as the LIDL: Staycation Postcards campaign was awarded a Bronze Shark at the Kinsale SHARK Awards.

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SIMON: Unfair City

Vini worked on a campaign at BBDO with Dublin Simon Community that aimed to raise awareness about the homelessness crisis in Ireland and ultimately generate more donations to the organization to help tackle it.

The SIMON: Unfair City campaign ingeniously harnessed the controversy and power of AI technology to tell the true story about Justin Cannon, a man that was homeless and gripped by alcoholism. Justin was able to get sober, find a home, and now advocates and volunteers for Dublin Simon Community.

Vini elaborated on the project, saying, “I had this idea a couple of years ago, when AI started showing up more and more in our society, especially the generated images.”

“I thought that it would be pretty cool to use those tools to generate a video, because there was no video before, it was just static images. I was wondering if we could push it a little bit further and create a visual out of that to tell the story of someone that was going through this experience in Simon, because homelessness was a hot topic at the time.”

To create this piece, Vini collaborated with the New York-based production company, LOBO,  and fellow Brazilian director, Diogo Kalil, as an illustrator to create a visual narrative using AI technology. Justin was interviewed about his life and experiences of living on the streets. This narration was accompanied by an animation that was compiled through the use of AI image generators.

Vini adds, “We were really lucky, because we were pretty much like the first ones in the world to launch an AI video, but we weren’t, because we extended the launch of the film a little bit. So we can’t say we were the first in the world, but definitely the first in Ireland.”

This allowed Justin to tell his story and relive this traumatic time in his life without the jarring presence of cameras, lights, and production crews. To view the full animation click here.

The results of this campaign exceeded all expectations. Donations increased by more than 259%, almost double the charity’s annual media budget in a period of only two weeks.

It received 25.4 million media impressions, a figure that dwarfs Dublin’s 1.2 million residents. There was also an increase of 55% in new donors aged between 18 and 34 years.

This campaign received widespread acclaim, with the Irish Independent calling it “One of the most advanced uses of the technology to date”.

The campaign was again recognised and praised by Vini’s industry peers. It received numerous awards, including:

• Effie – Gold (2023 Gold Public Service & Government)
• The Lovie Awards – Silver + People’s Choice Award
• Kinsale SHARKS – Silver and Bronze
• ICAD – 3x Bronze
• Lürzer’s Archive – Spot of the Week
• BBDO Network Effectiveness 2023

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His Art

Outside of the office, much of Vini’s personal time is dedicated to working on other creative projects. He is a self described Japanese culture enthusiast. I noticed on his Instagram that there are numerous posts of designs with an obvious Japanese influence and aesthetic.

His other projects are not confined to a Japanese style. He dabbles in various other mediums, such as sneaker customisation, street art, sticker designs, skateboard deck customisation, and traditional Western styled acrylic painting, similar to those he created for LIDL’s campaign.

Highlighting Societal Issues

In his body of work, there are also some pieces that touch on societal issues in modern day Dublin. A good example of this was his involvement in the Simon: Unfair City campaign which spread awareness about the homelessness crisis in Ireland and sought to increase donations to the charitable organization.

The topics vary, from the housing crisis to more controversial topics such as Direct Provision. As a migrant himself, Vini is empathetic to migrants that have had to endure challenging circumstances, such as the Direct Provision system.

Earlier this year, Vini and Donal Gaughran, a copywriter at TBWA, had an idea to draw attention to the fences being erected along the Grand Canal to prevent refugees from camping there. The Irish Refugee Council teamed up with TBWA\Ireland, to launch a symbolic banner-led campaign that advocated for refugee rights on World Refugee Day.

The campaign aimed to foster the public’s empathy for refugees and to tackle the rampant misinformation being spread about them.

Vini was tasked with designing and crafting the banners out of abandoned tents refugees were housing themselves in. The banners were placed on the barriers along the canal on Mespil Road, essentially using them as a canvas to convey this message. The banners featured a QR-code, which when scanned, provided unbiased information about the dangers refugees braved to seek sanctuary in Ireland.

I asked Vini why he liked to create artistic pieces that commented on societal issues, he responded with “I think it’s so crucial that people keep talking about those issues. Even if it’s not gonna change immediately.  If you keep the conversation alive, that’s a big win already.” So I do, like,

“Of course, I do work for advertisers. I sell beer, cars, whatever it is, but I love to do work that deals with social issues.”

The project caught the attention of the popular British punk rock band, Idles, which allowed the use of their song, Danny Nedelko, in the campaign’s video.

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More to Come

I asked Vini about any future projects or goals that he would like to achieve. He responded humorously, saying that he can’t be as active in his personal projects as he used to because he has a 2 year old at home.

However, he did express interest in an exhibition, saying “I would love to do an exhibition here in Dublin, somewhere. I don’t know where, but I would like to create an immersive exhibition, because I feel it’s missing in Dublin.”

He continues, “Yeah, I thought about opening my own agency a few times, but I don’t know if it’s for me. I would need to spend a lot of my time and energy and focus in the wrong place. I would be involved more in the business, not creating more.”

One thing I am sure of, is that he will continue to make waves in the advertising agency. Give Vini a follow on Instagram if you want to keep up with his creative projects. If you like his illustrations and designs, he sells fine art prints and stickers of his most popular pieces on Etsy.

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