Skip botox, start coaching: How Creative LIAisons helped The LEGO Group’s Niño Gupana defy aging
A story by Creative LIAisons Coach Niño Gupana (pictured bottom right), Global Creative Specialist at The LEGO Group.
I turned back time and became 24 years old again when chatting with Cher Silva of Leo Burnett Mexico, Elin Wikberg of BBDO Nordics and Simon Heinig of Vien Nord Serviceplan — navigating creativity with overflowing energy and curiosity.
Our discussions did not stop at the one-hour program; we kept the momentum going with monthly catch-ups on life, careers and everything in-between. It was never a professor-to-student setup, but a peer-to-peer session. This led me to ditch my non-existent serums from the medicine cabinet for poetic purposes.
Coach-Mentee Privilege
Never did I drop the word “slay” or “rizz” in our chats, yet somehow, we connected as equals. After all, we were speaking the language of idea — it transcends agencies, networks, cultures, accents, time zones and even creative fundamentals and philosophies. Idea has always been the king. To serve this royal highness, we built a safe palace where every idea: big, small, brave, half-baked, terrible-now-but-would’ve-worked-in-the-90s, was not just welcomed, but celebrated. That’s how we turned simple conversations to something meaningful. That’s how we built trust. That’s how we enjoyed this privilege.
Two-Needle Treatment
Part of the process used two needles, but a non-invasive approach to learning. While the program was designed to mentor young creatives and help them grow in their careers, I found myself getting schooled just as much in return. In fact, I can confidently claim that I am now more equipped to tackle workplace challenges, thanks to the fresh perspectives and invaluable insights from my mentees. Hopefully, they picked up a trick or two from me as well. Because in the end, mentorship is never a one-way street, it’s always a two-way injection of ideas, experiences, jokes, even the cringe-worthy ones, fantasies and reality checks.
Bespoke Therapy
Our one-on-one sessions inspired me to customixe my approach, recognizing that each mentee has their own unique ideals and opportunities. There was never a one-size-fits-all solution — every discourse deserves its own rhythm. Enthusiastic listening allowed me to understand not just their current emotions and future goals, but also their strengths and areas for growth.
The secret to staying young forever in this industry is acceptance. Accepting the unknown. Accepting change. Accepting that listening often weighs more than speaking. The world won’t stop spinning and technologies won’t stop advancing, but we can outpace time by accepting and embracing growth without aging, by evolving, adapting and sharing our instincts and intuition to the next generation — as long as we keep playing, we are young. And this, my friends, is the elixir of the ad life.
Gupana has been a copy-based creative lead for almost 17 years collectively in Leo Burnett, Publicis JimenezBasic, Publicis Manila, FCB, JWT/Wunderman Thompson and now at Our LEGO Agency of The LEGO Group. He has led integrated campaigns for LEGO Gaming, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, WWF, KitKat, Nescafé, P&G, Unilever, Heineken, the Philippine Government, among many other brands. Most of his works were fortunately recognised by Cannes Lions, D&AD, LIA, NY Festival, One Show, The Work, Spikes Asia, AdFest, AdStars, and other shows. He started his exposure in the world stage when he joined and won for the Philippines in Young Creative competitions at Cannes Lions and Spikes Asia when he was young-ish. He also represented his respective agencies then as a juror, facilitator and moderator for NY Festival, Spikes Asia and Creative Guild of the Philippines. This vault of experience has been the culprit of who he is today — an ideator and an implementer who yearns to evoke emotions through stories and solutions in all forms, platforms, and aspect ratios.