Breaking and Entering Advertising Podcast #531 - Joaquín Mollá | We Need Younger, Braver Voices
Feb 25, 2026
Joaquín Mollá, founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Community, a culturally influential ad agency. He talks about building a culture-first agency, why creativity must move people not just metrics, the difference between trend chasing and truth telling, mentoring young talent, and why handcrafted work still matters in an AI age.
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Therapy Sparked The Community
- Joaquín started The Community after a therapy session where he realized he loved advertising but hated how it was done.
- At 30 he opened an agency to run advertising his way, prioritizing culture, humanity, and selling ideas over media control.
Sell Ideas Not Media
- The Community's early rule was not to sell media so they could sell ideas and strategy as paid services.
- That contrarian model was disruptive 25 years ago and anticipated the industry's later shift to valuing idea-driven consultative work.
First Big Wins Rolling Stone And Volkswagen
- Early high-profile wins came from Rolling Stone and Volkswagen shortly after launching The Community.
- The Volkswagen