EP57 - Derooted Immersive Creative Director & Partner - Simón Rojas Gajardo

In the push persuade audiences to choose your product or service over the competition, it’s easy to forget that advertising is in itself both a form of art and expression. This is part of what motivated today’s guest, Simón Rojas Gajardo, to pursue a career in advertising’s creative side. Simón is both the Creative Director and a Partner at Derooted Immersive—a creative technologies company that specializes in producing uniquely memorable and interactive experiences for brands and live events. Simón was born in Santiago, Chile, while the country was under dictatorial rule. His parents were part of the opposition, and it’s here he learned the role artists can have at resisting tyranny. At a young age his family moved to Canada, settling in Toronto. Computers and graphic design software peeked Simón’s interest. And he pursued those further, enrolling at the International Academy of Art & Design where he studied advertising and art direction. Simón Rojas Gajardo sits down to talk about living under the former Chilean dictatorship, the authors and artists who influenced his life and work, his experiences working for both large and boutique creative agencies, his time working in Spain’s creative industry, and what it’s like to simultaneously be both a Partner and a Creative Director. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/