This week on The MCA Prodcast Pat Murphy talks to Úrsula Mejía Melgar, Marketing Director Southern Europe at the world’s leading premium drinks company Diageo. Úrsula is responsible for the strategy, marketing and innovation for the company’s portfolio across categories and markets in the region. A food engineer by training but a marketer by trade and heart, Úrsula has built a career at Fortune 250 companies including Procter&Gamble, General Mills and Mondelēz International. She is a passionate, purpose driven executive with 25 years’ experience across geographies and industries, a diversity and inclusion advocate and a voice for ESG as a business accelerator. 

In 2022 Úrsula developed a highly acclaimed ad for J&B whisky which saw a grandad exploring his gender through make up, only to then later use his understanding to support his transgender granddaughter. Úrsula explains the challenges she faced in creating such a brave ad, how she got it approved at Diageo, how it was received by audiences and the impact it ultimately had on the brand. 

Pat and Úrsula explore some of the considerations for advertising and production more broadly when it comes to Diversity and Inclusion. Úrsula also explores sustainability from a brand perspective; how can you lead a business’ values with regard to sustainability and how do those values inform marketing and advertising production decisions. 

Úrsula reflects on her heritage as a Mexican immigrant into the United States, how this has shaped her career and who inspired her in life. She recalls the incredible story of how her grandmother opened a school so her aunt could attend school, later attending a prestigious university and founding a society at that university to support disabled students. 

Watch Úrsula’s favourite ad:  Spanish Christmas Lottery 2014

Hosted by Pat Murphy

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