Joaquín is the founder and chief creative officer of the global creative agency, the community. Working his way up from copywriter, he became executive creative director at BBDO, before opening la comunidad (known as the community in the U.S.), with his brother, José Mollá, over 20 years ago. The community has offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, New York, and Mexico City.
Over the course of his career, Joaquin has worked for Verizon, Volkswagen, Converse, Diageo, Netflix, Apple, Sony, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike and more.
Outside of the agency world, Joaquín spent 10 years as a communications advisor to the City of Buenos Aires (2009-15) and the president of Argentina (2015-19).
We spent two minutes with Joaquín to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired.
Joaquín, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
I grew up in Argentina and now I live between Miami and New York.
How you first realized you were creative.
I was the fourth kid in my house. By the time I came around my siblings had already worn my parents out, so I had a lot of freedom and was able to do whatever I wanted. Without many “No’s” in my life, I had the opportunity to explore without fear. For me, that might be one of the strongest definitions of what creativity is.
A person you idolized creatively early on.
Dan Wieden and David Abbott.
A moment from high school or college that changed your life.
When I was in college, a friend committed suicide. It was the saddest thing that I had ever experienced and the first time I felt that life could end. It changed my life forever. It pushed me to do things fast before it’s my turn to leave.
A visual artist or band/musician you admire.
Thom Yorke and Robert Smith in music. Both are brilliant. I love Thom’s ability to ceaselessly explore. He always takes risks. He never stops. With Robert, I love that he has a unique perspective about life and the world and the grief that being on this planet brings … and he’s stayed with that for the duration of his career. There is a consistency in how he expresses himself that isn’t tied to any fad.
George Baselitz and Jeff De Kooning in visual arts. I love their craft. Their unfiltered stroke. You can see their soul. Their color palette is mesmerizing.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.
Movie: Magnolia. Best film ever. Book: RAYUELA by Julio Cortazar. TV show: Barry.
Your favorite fictional character.
Statler and Waldorf, the two elderly men in The Muppet Show. They consistently jeered the entirety of the cast and their performances from the balcony seats. Their harsh opinions and shared penchant for heckling is brilliant.
Someone or something worth following in social media.
@gabihuici is a brilliant artist who happens to also be a brilliant ECD. All his work is done in ink on Moleskin.
One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.
I will never forget the work we did for Bafici, the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. We read the moment very well. Everyone was doing big ads, and we said: “Why don’t we start with four people in a kitchen and write an amazing script?” The next year, we did four guys in a car. The insight was so simple … independent festivals are not for everyone, and we made that a positive feeling.