Washington Olivetto, WMcCann Brazil Chairman & McCann Worldgroup, Latin America & Caribbean CCO Named 2014 Clio Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Cristina Blanaru Creativity, Festivals & Awards, People

Clio Awards, one of world’s most recognized international advertising, design and communications competitions, announced that iconic Brazilian creative director and WMcCann Brazil agency head Washington Olivetto is the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The award will be presented at the 55th annual awards show on October 1 at Cipriani in New York.

The Clio Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates outstanding creative contributions by individuals who have led their community forward and paved the way for new industry talent.

 I’m exceptionally honored to receive the CLIO Lifetime Achievement Award, in no small part on account of distinguished names of those who received the award before me (…) I hope this award shines a light on the exemplary work being done around Latin America, and particularly in Brazil, which has been a source of inspiration and the greatest, most rewarding challenge I could have asked for.

Washington Olivetto.

Olivetto is known around the world as a leading figure in the advertising industry and in Brazil as an influential cultural figure. Olivetto shaped the advertising industry, creating iconic ads for Salvation Army, Nestle and Brazilian household staple BomBril, which boasts the longest-running campaign with the same lead character. Olivetto has previously won the Clio Awards’ Grand-Prix film award in 2001, with a TV spot for Época Magazine. In 2010, Olivetto’s W/Brasil merged with McCann Erickson Worldwide’s Brazilian operations to form WMcCann, based in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. WMcCann owns the two most popular campaigns on air in Brazil, one for Bradesco, the biggest bank in Brazil, and the other for Seara, a Brazilian food company. Aside from advertising, Washington is considered one of the biggest fans and soccer experts in the country and is the creator of “Democracia Corintiana,” an ideological movement in the history of Brazilian soccer and recognized worldwide.

Washington Olivetto is a name synonymous with innovation in the advertising industry (…) For decades, Washington’s work has been bringing Brazilian creative to the world and the most sophisticated thinking in global advertising to the Brazilian market. Defying contradiction, he’s at once a classic adman and a radical pioneer.

Nicole Purcell,

Executive Vice President Clio Awards.

The Clio Awards established its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Olivetto will join the ranks of previous honorees such as iconic director/cinematographer Tony Kaye (2001); Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO co-founder David Abbott (2002); former Ogilvy & Mather and WPP worldwide creative director Neil French (2003); global director media arts, TBWA Worldwide, Lee Clow (2004); BBH co-founder, Sir John Hegarty (2005); R/GA co-founder and chairman, Bob Greenberg (2006); Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide creative director, Bob Isherwood (2007); partner and general creative director of AlmapBBDO, Marcello Serpa (2008); Wieden + Kennedy co-founder, Dan Wieden (2009); Goodby, Silverstein & Partners co-chairman/creative directors Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein (2010); influential director Joe Pytka (2011); Executive Chairman and Creative Director of South Asia for Ogilvy & Mather India Piyush Pandey (2012); and legendary adman George Lois (2013).

CLIO Awards is one of the world’s most recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and communications. The CLIO Awards has maintained its original commitment to celebrate and reward creative excellence, honoring a powerful form of communication and its impact on modern culture. At the same time, the CLIO Awards remains focused on evolving with the industry in order to acknowledge the most current, breakthrough work. To this day, CLIO’s iconic statue is the most widely recognized and coveted symbol of the industry’s creative accomplishments.