June, 2026.- The industry is obsessed with real-time execution. But Gabriel Schmitt believes something different: that successful brands are not built through speed alone, but through intentional, crafted, timeless work that delivers compound effects over years, not hours.
Gabriel Schmitt, Global Chief Creative Officer at GREY, joins the Lisbon Ad Festival as a curator and Jury President in a groundbreaking model: for the first time, creative leaders and brand leaders will judge together. Some might see tension. Schmidt sees complementarity. CMOs have become sharper creatively, he explains, while the creative community has become more strategic and business-driven. The different perspectives, he predicts, will produce valuable complementary votes—not conflict.
What Schmitt is most excited to celebrate is work that endures. He points to Colombia’s “Expedition Impossible” campaign for Columbia as an example: a bold, daring piece of branding that challenged flat earth believers, communicated the company’s position clearly, and did so with a tone and message that will be remembered for years. That, for Gabriel Schmitt, is timelessness. Not work that spikes and fades, but work that builds a brand foundation strong enough to capitalize on timely opportunities when they arise.
In this interview, Schmidt discusses the tension between commercial reality and meaningful work. He argues that brands too often abandon promising ideas too quickly, doing a disservice to the potential compound effects those ideas could achieve. He commits to encouraging the Lisbon jury to look for brands and ideas that build on previous work—rather than constantly chasing new initiatives without foundation.
Schmitt also reflects on what Latin American creative leaders bring to global markets. Growing up in a region with limited resources, he explains, forces a unique ability to make things happen regardless of obstacles. That hands-on, problem-solving mindset is not better than other approaches, he clarifies, but it is different. And in a global industry that rewards hustle and adaptability, it is a genuine advantage.
This is a conversation about patience, craft, and the slow brand revival.
