Award-winning Advertising Agency makes the move to a Ground-Breaking Creative Space by Acclaimed Architect Lorcan O’Herlihy of LOHA
Los Angeles – September 16, 2011 – Grupo Gallegos, the award-winning Hispanic advertising agency known for their hilarious ad campaigns for the California Milk Processor Board (Got Milk?),Comcast and Fruit of the Loom, have created the ultimate work spacejust steps from the birthplace of California surf culture, the iconic Huntington Beach pier.
The surrounding beach, legendary waves and throngs of visitors to the adjacent pier give a great energy to the 40,000 sq foot space, with ample sunlight, tall windows and views of the ocean. A former six-screen multiplex, the space has undergone a remarkable transformation from a boarded up theater to a bustling, colorful, creative space.
This is a big change for Grupo Gallegos who were forced to move from their prior offices by an obstacle rarely seen these days – explosive growth. John Gallegos, the firm’s founder and visionary describes the imperative transition “as we outgrew our previous offices I realized the need to find a space that would allow us to grow well into the future. Finding this building gave me the opportunity to start from scratch and create an environment that reflected what has made us successful – collaboration – where every person in every department is a part of the creative process. Traditional ad agencies are divided by offices and floors and don’t allow employees to experience all parts of the process. And that is counter to how we operate.”
Gallegos, a sports buff and serious athlete himself, had long admired companies that offered hard working employees the opportunity to unwind and enjoy their surroundings during work hours. So, in 2010 he engaged noted LA architect Lorcan O’Herlihy of LOHA to craft his vision of a space that encouraged creativity while offering a plethora of physical activities.
Architect Lorcan O’Herlihy, founder of LOHA Architects and winner of seven AIA/LA design awards and 26 national and international awards, calls it a “livable working space.” A culture ideally suited to Grupo Gallegos and the young employees who have the opportunity to work hard on their unique ad campaigns and then play hard. O’Herlihy, part of the creative IM Pei team who created the Louvre glass pyramid in Paris, says of the new trend for optimum design for work environments. “Working hard and playing hard is a culture that works. Grupo Gallegos is a growing advertising agency and the trend of a healthy work environment at the beach is a perfect solution.”
The Grupo Gallegos work model offers surf breaks by the Pier, a fleet of beach cruisers, a full basketball and futsol court, gym, batting cage, spinning and yoga classes and plenty of space to run laps around the office. Clients are offered a sports break from meetings held in unique meeting spaces that appear to float over the offices. In a nod to the agency’s Hispanic roots, the conference room blinds can be rotated to display “occupado” in giant letters.
The man behind this powerhouse agency is John Gallegos. California born Gallegos, who is of Mexican descent and played baseball at USC, founded the agency in 2001 with the idea of integrated marketing strategies for a multicultural audience. Gallegos leads the Hispanic market having created campaigns for Absolut, Bally Total Fitness, Comcast, Energizer, Fruit of the Loom, Calif. Milk Processor Board, Home Depot, Proctor & Gamble and Tecate to name a few. His agency’s success in revolutionizing how brands communicate with the growing Hispanic market is due in part to his mantra “look for courageous clients who are willing to challenge convention.” Gallegos had long thought he could help marketers connect with Hispanic customers in a new yet effective way and his agency’s mountain of awards and rapid expansion attest to the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Business Week describes Grupo Gallegos this way: ” A catalyst for advertisers rethinking the conventional Hallmark-card style. They woke up Hispanic advertising with a TV spot for Fox Sports Net Inc, depicting a Hispanic housewife returning from shopping and detecting a bad smell in her house. ” The New York Times magazine ran a 4,000 word article on Grupo Gallegos, with a photograph of John Gallegos captioned ‘Making a metaphor out of a rabbit, John Gallegos and the Energizer conejo. His challenge: To turn his client’s mascot into the cultural touchstone for Spanish speakers that it is for Anglophobes.” The Hispanic market is the fastest growing consumer market in the US, putting Grupo Gallegos at the forefront of a competitive new advertising challenge.
