PDN - May 2012

CREATE

BraziL’S a DvertiSiNg COmeS Of age

Spurred on by Brazil’s
booming economy and
growing middle class,
ad agencies are turning
out award-winning print
campaigns that offer
plenty of opportunities
for photographers.
By Luciana Obniski

For the past decade, Brazil has been rid- ing an economic miracle. The country has brought down its debt, brought in- flation under control and balanced its budget. While the economies of the U.S. and Europe struggle, Brazil’s continues to grow, with almost no unemployment. Nearly 30 million people have moved out of dire poverty, and the country’s burgeoning middle class is eager to buy everything from houses to cars to consumer goods that reflect their new status.

Against that backdrop—and the world attention now focusing on Brazil leading up to the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016—the Brazilian advertising industry is exploding. According to research by ZenithOptimedia (affiliated with the French

communication company Publicis Groupe), the South American country is expected to spend $16.3 billion (in U.S. dollars) on advertising in 2012, up from $12.9 billion in 2010. That makes Brazil the sixth biggest advertising market in the world, ahead of countries like France and Italy.

“The best thing about Brazilian advertising is without a doubt its creativity,” asserts Roberto Fernandez, executive creative director at JWT Brazil in São Paulo. He cites the numerous awards Brazil agencies have won at Cannes Lions and other international competitions in the last few years. Social and cultural factors are driving that success, he believes. “Artists cannot support themselves in Brazil only doing art, which drives a lot of incredibly smart and creative people to advertising, where the money is,” he says. What differentiates Brazilian advertising from that of other countries is its playful humor, he adds. “Our pieces are more fun. We have a more positive way to look at life,” Fernandez explains.

He and art director Filipe Cuvero won bronze awards at both Cannes Lions and the Wave Festival last year for the campaign “O Olhar das Marcas” (The View of the Brands). The campaign is actually an exhibition, where 20 of the best advertising photographers in Brazil were invited to use pinhole cameras to create images of the products of various JWT clients, lincluding Ford, Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods. “The campaign was fun and easily executed,” because it brought out the “kid” inside the photographers, Cuvero explains.

The idea, besides garnering attention for the agency, was to get clients to “think outside the box” by seeing past conventional presentations of their products, Fernandez says. The exhibition featured images of products with a more intimate feel and “cool” effects that brand managers want, but can’t always envision in the abstract. “You can’t just want to think outside the box, you have to actually do it,” Fernandez says.

Another notable print campaign last year was Ogilvy Brazil’s work for the 24-hour BandSports network, which exemplifies the humor of Brazilian advertising.