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Creative network GUT launches first European office in Amsterdam
Fresh off an impressive streak of wins at Cannes Lions this year, including becoming Independent Network of the Year and winning three Grand Prix awards, global independent creative network GUT has officially settled in Europe – choosing Amsterdam as the new home for its famously gutsy vision and equally tenacious talent.
Anselmo Ramos, Co-founder and Creative Chairman, GUT: “We’re still processing all the feelings and learnings from this historic week in Cannes. One thing is for sure; it was an emblematic way to round up our first five years. We’re going to put this extra energy and optimism towards GUT Amsterdam to establish the GUT brand in Europe. We’re ready to show our guts, find brave clients, and keep proving that bravery means business.”
Officially opening its doors in early 2023, GUT Amsterdam is led by Natalia Forster as managing director, and this week welcomes Matteo Gallinelli and Guillaume Roukhomovsky as the agency's new creative directors.
With 21 years of experience across the advertising industry, 15 of which have been in Amsterdam, and a CV stacked with senior roles at award-winning agencies such as 180, Wieden+Kennedy and TBWA, Forster knows first-hand the advantages that the city has to offer for any creative agency.
Natalia Forster, Managing Director, GUT Amsterdam: “There’s no better city than Amsterdam for our first European office. As an international port that welcomes all accents, cultures and perspectives, Amsterdam exports and embraces creative talent. It’s the perfect place to lay the foundations for our network in Europe.”
Forster, together with creative directors Gallinelli and Roukhomovsky - both formerly with 72andSunny - are joined by Bruno Steffen as head of strategy, and Meme Traverso as group account director. The team brings international and local experience to the network, with a portfolio of award-winning global campaigns under their belts for well-known brands which include adidas, Coca Cola and Google.
GUT Amsterdam has ambitions to grow at an exciting pace, with a focus on hiring a fearsome selection of top local talent – continuing GUT’s network-wide vow to reflect the diversity makeup of every geographic region in which it operates.
Foster: “Launching a new office from scratch means that we can build the creative agency that our clients need. We’re excited to offer all the expertise of a truly global creative network with a radically independent mindset, while providing a fully personalised service for each of them from day one.”
GUT Amsterdam is the network’s seventh office, and its first outside of the Americas. With the rest of its 480-strong team spread between Miami, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Toronto, Mexico City and Los Angeles, the agency works with clients including Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Tim Hortons, Mercado Libre, and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s roster of brands, among many others.
With an Amsterdam office client portfolio that already includes foodora (an online delivery brand leading in Scandinavian and Eastern European markets, owned by Delivery Hero) and Kraft-Heinz, GUT brings a fresh energy and excitement to the city, while exploring new partnerships with brands from across the continent.
Ramos: “We have a lot of respect for Amsterdam and Europe’s creative history. We grew up admiring the work of agencies like Wieden & Kennedy, 180, 72andSunny, Kessels Kramer and so many others, so it’s an honour to be here among them all – to learn, and to share some friendly competition, in this beautiful creative and cultural hub."
GUT was founded in 2018 by award-winning creative veterans Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio, who had together previously co-founded DAVID, which is part of the Ogilvy network.
Specialising in bold, conversation-starting campaigns, the pair are best known for coming up with the ideas behind Burger King’s “Google Home Of The Whopper,” Heinz’s “Wiener Stampede,” and Budweiser’s “Stand By You.”
In five years, the GUT Network has already racked up numerous awards and accolades from across the industry, consistently recognised across the Americas for its lateral thinking and courageous approach to creativity. The network has just been named the #1 Independent Network of the year at Cannes, along with LATAM Network of the Year.
Its GUT Buenos Aires office also claimed top prizes at this year’s Festival, including Independent Agency of the Year, and Agency of the Year - the first for Argentina. GUT has also been honoured in Ad Age’s A-List for the past four years consecutively, among many other top accolades.
For co-founder Gaston Bigio, GUT’s European expansion is a sign of exciting things to come.
Gaston: “GUT Amsterdam is just the start – I can’t wait to see what the team will have accomplished a year from now.”
