There he worked on niche magazines such as Electricity on the Farm and Starchroom Laundry Journal or as Gomes calls them, “wacky magazines.” While working there Gomes discovered a passion for art and attended two-year courses at both the Pratt Institute and the School of Visual Arts in New York in order to become an art director. Following his education he was hired by the advertising arm of Macy’s as a layout artist. Before long he obtained his dream job of art director for the large advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB). It was here that Gomes’ visual craft was perfected in ads for such prestigious accounts as American Airlines and Volkswagen.
Becoming more engrossed with the aspect of directing his own commercials, Gomes left the firm, against the advice of his colleagues, to form his own production company, Gomes Loew, becoming one of the first art directors to make the transition to commercial director. Throughout his career, Gomes has worked on advertising campaigns and directed commercials for Crest, Alka-Seltzer, Lucky Strike Cigarettes, Travelers Insurance, American Tobacco, Bell Telephone, British Overseas Airways Corporation, and his final advertising work; commercials for President George H. W. Bush’s 1992 presidential campaign.
A master of what is known in advertising as the “indirect sell,” several of Gomes’ commercial spots, most notably for Alka-Seltzer (“Try it, you’ll like it;” “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”), ranked in the top 100 best advertising campaigns compiled by Advertising Age. For his directorial efforts Gomes won the DGA’s Commercials Award in 1980 for his “Joey Called” spot for Bell Telephone and is the recipient of 22 Clio awards, the highest honor for creative excellence in advertising. Gomes was also a member of the DGA’s 75th Anniversary panel “30 Seconds to Impact: Celebrating Game-Changing Commercial Directing.”