Ramiro Agulla, the creative force who reinvented Argentine advertising, dies

Ramiro Agulla, widely regarded as the most important figure in contemporary Argentine advertising and the creative force behind numerous popular television and political campaigns over the past three decades, has died. He was 62.

Agulla passed away early this morning after being hospitalized in recent days for pneumonia, which complicated into septic shock. Born in 1964 in Río Gallegos, Agulla moved to Buenos Aires at a young age. After attending Colegio Champagnat, he followed in his father's footsteps, who was involved in media and communication, by studying at the Argentine Advertising Agencies Association school.

His early career began at León Chocrón, a small agency focused on film distribution. The pivotal moment in his career came at Young & Rubicam, where he met Carlos Baccetti, who would become his partner for over two decades. Together, they moved to Verdino before founding their own agency, Agulla & Baccetti. The firm quickly became a leading agency, attracting major clients such as Coca-Cola, Quilmes, OCA, and Banco Itaú in the 1990s. They were responsible for impactful commercials like "La llama que llama" for Telecom and "Gueropa" for Renault.

Agulla & Baccetti also became a hub for emerging talent, nurturing creatives who later achieved international recognition. Agulla later accepted a proposal from his friend Darío Lopérfido to join the campaign committee for Fernando de la Rúa, then head of government for Buenos Aires. For De la Rúa, Agulla created the memorable "Dicen que soy aburrido" (They say I'm boring) campaign, which became an emblem of Argentine political communication, though it later drew criticism for contributing to an image that clashed with the subsequent failure of the Alianza government.

Politics was not unfamiliar territory for Agulla. His father, Horacio Agulla, was a lawyer and politician who served as a deputy and participated in drafting the Constitution of Santa Cruz province. However, his father's great passion was journalism. In 1978, when Ramiro was 14, his father, then director of Confirmado magazine, was assassinated in Buenos Aires.

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his next challenge was nothing less than to refound Argentine advertising