Gabriel Menezes | Reality Backpackers

Works

Reality Backpackers 2

I led the creative direction for a campaign that blended human drama and machine imagination, using AI to turn the wild beauty of Colombia into a living, breathing visual language.

Role: Creative Direction

Celebrity Adventure and the Raw Beauty of Colombia.

Eight reality stars. One remote rainforest. No frills, no filters.

"Reality Backpackers 2" plunges celebrity contestants deep into the raw, untamed beauty of Colombia, armed with nothing but a backpack and each other.

But how might we promote a reality show format by leveraging its unique features to generate awareness and engagement, while distinguishing it within its category?

Culture Meets Adventure

Colombia’s vibrant mix of color, rhythm, and spirit infused every step of the journey. From the warmth of its people to the wild pulse of the Amazon that shaped every frame of the campaign.

AI-Enhanced Visual World

To reflect the vibrant surrealism of Colombian nature, AI was made as an active, creative team member, designing campaign motifs that exaggerated scale, color, and contrast to build intrigue and visual impact.

Midjourney, Krea, and Runaway helped the team craft still and moving images creatives.

Product Rollouts

A short film that codifies Joyn’s purpose and values, used in onboarding to align teams, set the creative bar, and speed decisions.

All-In Creativity Meets Reality-Loving Audiences

Two hero spots—one concept-led, one optimized for reality fans—rolled out across TV and digital to maximize impact.

Colourful Colombia

For the "Reality Fans"

From Jungle to Feed.

AI was used not just to visualize, but to elevate, creating bespoke social assets where jungle textures, local patterns, and cast dynamics merged into platform-native stories.

Every visual was designed to echo a moment from the show: the tension, the humor, the cultural contrasts, remixed into a scroll-stopping motion.

"No Hablo Español"... yeah, we know.

We spotlighted the cast’s cultural struggles and awkward local interactions. Language mix-ups and misunderstandings sparked a playful Duolingo beef that went viral.

Impact.

• Contributed to Joyn’s record 7.6M monthly active video users in January 2025, up from 6.2M in December, and to a 67% year-over-year watch-time lift during the run.

• Drove reach and efficient media: creator marketing delivered ~2.7M organic impressions; Duo Lingo stunt added ~248K views; Meta outperformed genre CPM and CPC benchmarks.

• Improved conversion quality through experimentation: YouTube CTA outperformed Joyn CTA on CpView and conversion, and the title charted in Joyn Top 10 during December–January.

Creative Director: Gabriel Menezes

Art Direction/Motion: Alex Mahnke

Art Direction: Carina Keck, Dennis Hölzing

Copywriter: Moana Menne

Project Managers: Isabel Hein, Ann-Kathrin Wüst

Let’s shape what's next.

Works