Hank Olguin

Hank Olguin has enjoyed a long and varied career, most of which has been devoted to the

advertising and marketing/communications fields. As a writer and creative director, he has

written and produced countless advertising vehicles, including dozens of TV and radio

commercials; has won numerous advertising awards, including two Clios; written a book on

creativity; and written songs for Sesame Street.

As a third generation, bilingual Mexican American, Hank decided early in his career to focus

his efforts on projects related to the Latino community and market. For eight years, he

served as the Communications Director for a U.S. Department of Labor, national

employment and training program, SER-Jobs for Progress, serving the special needs of

Latinos. During those years, he became an active member of Nosotros, an organization

dedicated to eliminating Hollywood Latino stereotypes.

Hank was then hired as a senior copywriter by a major advertising agency, GSD&M, as part

of a bilingual/bicultural team in the pioneering days of Hispanic advertising. He soon

became a creative director and VP, working on successful Spanish/English advertising

campaigns for several major accounts such as Sea World, Walmart, and Domino’s Pizza. He

also served as a leader on the team that put the Coors Brewing Company on the Hispanic

market map, an accomplishment described by Advertising Age as “one of the most dramatic

marketing turnarounds in modern corporate history.”

For many years, he has been a strong advocate for changing the negative image and public

perception of Latinos and Latinas in the media. While at GSD&M, he collaborated on the

creation of breakthrough advertising and promotions toward that end. A TV commercial

celebrating Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients and the commemoration of a statue of a

“Tejano” unsung hero of the Alamo serve as prime examples.

Today, he facilitates seminars on creativity, branding, and communications. In addition, he

has developed a childrens’, animated TV series, and has created a program, Imagine That,

designed to help Latina/o students achieve greater academic success through creative

visualization.

He holds a degree in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley where he earned

letters in football and track & field and was awarded the Sara Huntsman Sturgess Memorial

Prize (for outstanding artistic achievement in dramatic art). Inducted as a Fellow of the

Order of the Golden Bear.