An introduction to advertising in Brazil

The Brazilian advertising industry has matured rapidly, and is now one of the biggest in the world, particuarly when it comes to its creative reputation. At the D&AD Awards we've seen increasing numbers of Pencils awarded to Brazilian creative agencies in recent times. So we asked Laís Prado, editor in chief of Brazilian website Clubeonline, to give us a flavour of advertising creativity in Brazil.

There’s no way to begin describing our current world without referring to the numerous monumental crises that we are facing at present. Climate change, migration, the oil crisis, terrorism – are all in addition to, in Brazil’s case, grave political, economical, security, and public health crises.

Being confronted by challenges of such magnitude, it has become increasingly clear that we need advertisers and their brands to help tow contemporary society to a better place. How? By constructing, instructing, educating, protecting and helping to find solutions to big and small, global and local challenges.

I’m not speaking about commercial ‘opportunities’, but the need of the creative industries, the metaphorical ‘spokesperson’ for brands, to offer society consistent ideas and projects. To offer assertive actions to help break current paradigms.

It is about having a commitment to our future. In Brazil, brands that are committed to creating a positive legacy have started to show great initiative towards this mission.

In 2015, the Pão de Açúcar Group, a retail chain, for example, staged the movement #vamojunto (#letsgotogether), created by Y&R Brazil, to help its clients face the economic crisis: