At the 2025 HMC Excellence Awards, Aldo Quevedo, CEO and Creative Chairman of BeautifulBeast, and Flor Leibaschoff, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of the agency, were honored with the coveted Strategic Excellence Award for their bold and emotionally resonant campaign for Chispa, the dating app designed for the U.S. Latino community.
The winning campaign stood out for its cultural depth and strategic innovation, built around the powerful insight of Amor No B.S.,highlighting the challenges and misconceptions Latinos face when looking for love in the United States. Rather than positioning Chispa as just another tech solution, the agency leaned into human connection, focusing on real-life experiences first and extending the story into the digital world.
A key element of the campaign was the creation of an original Broadway play, featuring an all Latino cast and inspired by real stories from Chispa users. “It wasn’t just entertaining — it was deeply insightful and emotionally triggering, even for those outside the target audience. It made the idea feel fresh and truly engaging,” said one of the panelists.
The campaign unfolded in two strategic phases: a live, memorable cultural experience followed by a digital activation, ultimately resulting in over 120,000 downloads of the app, a clear indicator of its business impact.
During the discussion moderated by Victor Paredes, VP of Cultural Strategy at Collage Group, and joined by Ricardo Aspiazu, Senior Vice President, Creative & Brand Design,Verizon and Esperanza Teasdale, Vice President & General Manager, Hispanic Business Unit for PepsiCo Beverages North America, the team emphasized the need to avoid turning cultural insights into stereotypes. As Aldo noted, “If you use an insight too much, it becomes a cliché. We need to be bold, but also fresh and respectful with the truths we tell.”
Flor echoed that sentiment, encouraging creatives to stay proactive: “Ideas are everywhere, but we have to chase them, not wait for them. Back your creative ideas with solid business facts. Don’t apologize; be bold. No excuses.”
This recognition positions BeautifulBeast as a leading force in strategic, culturally driven creativity and reaffirms the power of storytelling to connect brands with diverse audiences in authentic and transformative ways.
