How to write an article about creativity without falling into the incoherence of not being creative right away? That’s exactly the thought that’s going through my head right now.
Every time I sit down to write this column, I feel a certain amount of butterflies in my stomach, but I confess that today the irony hit a little stronger.
Talking about “being creative” is a cruel trap. If I start this text with a well-worn quote from Steve Jobs, I will be called a cliché. If I try to invent a wild metaphor about human existence, I run the risk of seeming pedantic. And if I prolong this introductory opportunity too much, I will possibly be more verbose than creative.
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As I type and delete paragraphs, I realize that I am experiencing “imposter syndrome”. And, you know what? This little behind-the-scenes existential crisis of mine is the perfect illustration of one of today’s biggest dilemmas: the challenge of proving yourself creative.
What I’m trying to say (in a creative or at least reflective way) is that from the moment you need to open your mouth (or a presentation slide) to try to justify how creative you are, you’ve most likely already stopped being. So, the solution is to show it in practice.
But now, in a scenario where artificial intelligence has started spitting out millions of ideas every millisecond (even to the least creative person on the planet), believe me, sounding “different” has become more difficult than it was before.
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Brief context.
Remember the golden age of Brazilian advertising? In the past, an agency’s level of genius was measured by the number of Cannes Lions or Caboré owls that rested in the office’s luxurious reception. The award was an indisputable certificate of creativity.
We stopped to watch commercials like Nissan’s “Cursed Ponies” or Itaú’s “Paperless Baby”. The big agencies were the absolute owners of the narrative.
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But social media has changed this rule. And brutally so.
Today, the real value is not in the statuette that collects dust, but in how relevant you become in the feed of millions of people. Creatives are no longer the ones who win prizes with ghost campaigns made just to please the judges; It’s who can hack attention, make a narrative go viral and prove, in practice, that they know how to master the algorithm to become a publisher.
And that’s where the hottest case of the moment comes in.
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VinciSociety’s iron skewer
If you consume business content, it’s almost impossible not to have come across Tay Dantas. After noisy stints at G4 Educação and Boca Rosa, she founded her own business: Vinci Society. The promise is straightforward: to build “the sexiest brands on the market”.
A bold speech? For sure. Potentially branded a snob? Perhaps. But Tay’s true brilliance was not being restricted to selling this thesis in a PowerPoint file.
She became the company’s number one client.
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Instead of knocking on doors for clients, Tay became the guinea pig for his own methodology. He started producing videos rigorously applying the best practices of the algorithmic game: strong opening hooks to retain the audience, subjects with a high potential for polarization to generate debates, deep reflections and tributes (veiled or direct) to important figures in the market, who soon began to repost their content.
Despite using a “prompt formula”, theoretically available to any professional, she managed to polish the recipe to incorporate a magnetic character, enveloped under the aura of “the most intelligent and creative woman on the internet”.
The videos went viral. And the meme became a box.
Tay has established herself as an alpha influencer for business creators. With this public endorsement on the networks, customers flooded in wanting the same borogodó. The result? R$36 million in revenue in 2025, in the first year of operation, accompanied by an undisputed corporate celebrity status.
A commodity gourmetized by the audience
In summary, Vinci’s business model is based on providing services in a high-ticket consultancy format (with high added value), focused on positioning strategy, brand reformulation (visual and verbal branding) and creation of authentic content. They take solid (and often flawed) companies and founders with “corporate LinkedIn syndrome” and give them an injection of cultural relevance.
Even delivering work that, in essence, is commoditized, the company has become a coveted object of desire. The same frisson that once surrounded advertising agencies with shelves full of trophies – including mocking those who only have awards and zero innovation has become part of the discursive arsenal.
The moral of the – brief – history of the Vinci Society?
Whoever has an audience has everything. And this is not a reference intended just for those who are setting up an advertising agency or some other type of venture in the creative economy market. It applies to any company that is seeking real notoriety on the internet.
Remember the old saying “in a blacksmith’s house, the skewer is made of wood”? So it is. Tay Dantas broke the rule. And if I were you, I would do the same.
In fact, that’s what I’m already trying to do right now when writing this article.
