17470: On Deep-Seated Racism.

 

This campaign for Brazilian Men’s Football Team Corinthians—titled “Racists Have No Seat Here”—was produced by End to End and AREA 23 in Brazil. The concept is explained as follows:

 

After Palmeiras goalkeeper Carlos Miguel was racially abused during a match at Corinthians’ Neo Química Arena—and the individual responsible could not be identified—the club made an indefinite, visible intervention: it removed the seat from the section where the incident took place. In its place is a message reading, “Here, racism has no place. And never will,” along with a QR code that directs fans to educational resources on how to identify, document and report racist behavior during matches. The idea is simple, but hard to ignore: if racism cannot be allowed a place in the stadium, then the seat itself had to go. The empty space becomes the message.

 

The campaign, created with Corinthians and End to End, was developed with AREA 23’s creative leadership and is designed as both a symbolic act and a practical reporting tool turning an unidentified act of hate into a reminder of collective responsibility.

 

To call the tactic “a practical reporting tool” is ludicrous. After all, how many stadium visitors or sports fans might even be aware of the campaign, let alone see the missing seat message?

 

And why would a healthcare agency be involved in such an endeavor, except with the self-absorbed intention to submit the work for awards?

 

If the true objective is communicating people have a responsibility to report acts of hate against racial and ethnic minorities, start by calling out the systemic racism prevalent at AREA 23 and its new parent Omnicom.

17015: Cannes Lions, Cannes Liars.

 

MediaPost reported Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awarded the first ‘Creative Country Of The Year’ trophy to Brazil—a place notorious for scam ads, cultural cluelessness, and countrywide racism. It feels like Time ‘Person Of The Year’ going to Donald Trump.

 

Brazil Is Named Cannes Lions First ‘Creative Country Of The Year’

 

By Steve McClellan

 

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has unveiled a new award — Creative Country Of The Year — and the first recipient is Brazil, which will be honored at the festival in June. 

 

The organization said that the annual accolade recognizes a country’s consistent success at the Festival as well as “a country’s exceptional and enduring commitment to creativity that drives progress and growth.”

 

As part of that recognition this year, the 2025 Festival will feature Brazilian creative showcases, celebratory events, dedicated stage talks and Brazilian-led activations across the City of Cannes, including the return of FilmBrazil, which will host a networking event.

 

Sponsoring this year’s award is Brazilian daily newspaper Estadão, a long-time supporter of the Festival and which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.  

 

Brazil won its first Lions at the 1971 Festival, collecting two Bronze Lions for Cinema and a Silver Lion for Television. In 1975 it brought home its first Gold Lions, and in 1993 it was awarded its first Grand Prix for ‘The Guarana Diet Campaign’ by Dm9 Publicidade for Guarana Antarctica. Since then, it has gone on to win 1911 Lions, 20 of which have been Grands Prix. 
 
In 1972, Alex Perissinoto served as the first Brazilian Juror, and Christina Carvalho Pinto, the first woman to lead a multinational communication corporation in Latin America — the Young & Rubicam Group — served as the first female Juror from Brazil in 1990. To date, more than 400 Brazilians have served on Cannes Lions Juries. Brazil’s Marcello Serpa brought home Latin America’s first Grand Prix and was honored with the prestigious Lion of St Mark in 2016. 
 
Washington Olivetto, who died last year, was known as the ‘Godfather of Brazilian Advertising’ and winner of Brazil’s first Gold Lion and more than 50 Lions across his career. A special tribute will be made to him at the Festival. 

16747: Power To The Prey…?

 

This PSA campaign from Brazil is promoting the Maria da Penha Law to fight domestic violence against women. Okay, but is the imagery supposed to symbolize physical assault or is it a power fist? 

 

 

16622: No Flowers For Anti-Violence Against Women Campaign.

 

This Brazilian campaign seeks to build awareness to combat violence against women. Yet it feels, well, too flowery to address the issue. Plus, the credits appear to reveal an all-male creative team.

 

16455: Being Black In Brazil.

November 20 is Black Awareness Day in Brazil, where Banco do Brasil delivered a campaign that was reportedly produced by a 100% Black team, Black casting, and led by Black employees. The bank is working to stay in the Black.

Additionally, November is viewed like Black History Month in Salvador—a locale considered the Blackest city outside Africa—where celebrations included a campaign inviting people to pound the drums.

16252: Receipt Or Deceit…?

 

This anti-racist campaign from Grey Brazil has scam written all over it. Hopefully, the client kept the receipt—because they should return the shit for a full refund.

 

 

Scampaign Explanation

 

Black people always suffer racism inside consumption spaces in Brazil. From harassment by security guards to cases of death. It’s common to see black customers being asked to show their receipts to prove that they own something they have bought. And this is one example of the many racist aggressions practiced in commerce in the country.

 

Based on this scenario, Grey Brazil created a campaign for Racismo Zero, a program developed by University Zumbi dos Palmares to fight racism inside commerce spaces, named “Receipts of Respect”. The objective is to raise awareness to the numerous types of racist aggression practiced in retail stores and then invite companies to join the program, which offers racial education to the employees of these companies, granting an “anti-racist company” seal to those that bring the cases in their establishments to zero.

 

The campaign is divided into two parts. In the first part, billboards will display actual receipts collected among people who already suffered this type of violence and had to show them to prove they haven’t stolen anything. The pieces explain how black people are forced to carry their receipts and invite companies to take part on Racismo Zero program.

 

The second part of the campaign is a platform for action: a free software for receipt printers that turns the receipt, a symbol of this type of racism, into a channel for protest and denouncement.

 

This software can be downloaded at notasdorespeito.com.br and works like any other app for receipt printers, but it brings a QR Code on the receipt, in the shape of a clenched fist, a symbol of black resistance, which directs consumers to a site where they can make complaints and find legal and emotional counseling, in the moment the racist act happens. In addition, the receipts printed by the software will bring real stories of black citizens who have faced situations of racism in their daily lives and had to prove that they did not steal or rob something that was theirs.

 

The software will be amplified by a film, billboards and on social media.

15843: At Cannes, Black Lions Don’t Matter.

 

Adweek reported—and provided an update—on the exclusivity at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where culturally clueless controversy erupted after the awards show initially assembled a predominately White Brazilian jury pool.

 

Cannes Lions officials quickly rejiggered the invitations for greater Black representation, spewing the standard clichéd and contrived apologies. The unconsciously biased bullshit from Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook included, “[W]e are still far from where we want to be…I wholeheartedly recognize there is more work to be done…”

 

The scenario presented a host of hilarious hypocrisies and hijinks such as:

 

• Brazil—the country often accused of submitting scam campaigns—now adds suspicious jury selection to its creative character defects.

 

• The premier advertising awards show perfectly reflects Adland by perpetuating prejudiced pranks—and can’t even craft an original excuse for their discriminatory deeds.

 

• The Adweek article was illustrated with a flag of Brazil image (depicted above). For diversity at Cannes, it would be more appropriate—and symbolically clever—to raise a White flag.

 

 

Nearly All-White Brazil Delegation for Cannes Lions Spurs Uproar

 

Agency members penned an open letter to Lions CEO Simon Cook

 

By Chris Ariens

 

Update: On May 13, a week after this story was published, we received this update:

 

“Cannes Lions have taken immediate action and invited five black Brazilian creatives to join their 2022 juries,” said Andre Chaves of advocacy group Papel & Caneta. “In addition, they will provide a speaking slot at the festival to give a voice to black creative talent on the global stage.”

 

The additions come following a meeting members of the advocacy groups had with Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook earlier this week. Following next month’s festival, Cook also plans to visit Brazil to meet with organizations that can help the festival forge better relationships with the wider Black creative community.

 

Original story: A collective of Brazilian creatives, supported by a vocal ensemble of diversity champions, has penned an open letter to Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook questioning the choice of its jurors from Brazil, with only one Black creative out of 24 names.

 

The group called on the Lions to consider proportional diversity as a criteria for jury selection. The move has been supported by industry leaders like Cindy Gallop and Kat Gordon of the 3% Conference.

 

“We are committed to having more representative juries—but we are still far from where we want to be,” Cook said today in response to the letter. “This year, we have missed the mark on the selection of jurors in Brazil.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that the Cannes organization recognizes that their team failed in the selection of jurors in Brazil, but I expect more changes,” Andre Chaves, founder of São Paulo’s Papel & Caneta, an advocacy group working on behalf of creatives, and one of the authors of the open letter, told Adweek. “It makes no sense to have only one Black person out of 24 jurors. And if it did, it just goes to show that there is something very wrong with the selection criteria.”

 

Gabriela Rodrigues, another voice behind the open letter and head of impact and culture at agency SOKO, told Adweek: “It is urgent for the Cannes Lions festival to rethink its jury selection criteria. We want less political factors and more fairness in the criteria. We want space for the bright Black people who exist in the Brazilian market—and also outside Brazil—to have a real chance.”

 

“I wholeheartedly recognize there is more work to be done at an individual country level,” Cook added. “The Cannes Lions shortlisting jury will be announced next week, and we will ensure better representation globally—and at a local level, particularly in Brazil.”

 

Cannes Lions said its juror diversity efforts have led to an increase of Black representation from 8% in 2021 to 13% this year. Cook thanked Chaves, Rodrigues and their group for drawing attention to the problem, adding, “we’re committed to our juries being more representative of society, year on year.”

 

With a population of 215 million, more than half of the Brazilian population (56%) identify as Black, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

15778: Fartlett’s Familiar Quotations.

 

This Brazilian campaign for safe driving should be towed away to the junkyard. At least the creative team didn’t show MLK declaring, “I have a dream—that drinking and driving stay segregated…”

 

15747: Shut Your Mouth, Racists!

 

This campaign from Brazil tells racists, “Swallow your racism.” Okay, but the typography appears to be moving out of figures’ mouths—making viewers with design skills want to throw up.

 

15501: No Go, Fogo de Chão.

 

The creative team responsible for this Fogo de Chão campaign would be much better if fired. 

15482: The Illusion Is Fake. The Ads Probably Are Too.

 

Leave it to Brazil to hype booze with hallucinatory imagery. 

 

15460: COVID-19, BR-116, 100 km/h.

 

Leave it to advertising agencies in Brazil to find new opportunistic ways to exploit the coronavirus.

15435: Drowning In Drunkenness…?

 

This VeroVino campaign from Brazil seems like it’s celebrating immersive inebriation. Hey, don’t drink and dive… 

 

15369: How Many Brazilians Does It Take To Create A Shitty Campaign?

 

This Honda campaign from Brazil credits the creative team as including two copywriters, two art directors and a creative director. Really? In the US, it could’ve been handled by a single portfolio school student.

 

15367: Brazilian Creatives Don’t Know When To Stop…

Given all the attention over sexual harassment in the advertising industry, perhaps somebody should have hit the brakes on this Ford campaign from Brazil.

 

15340: Targeting AA Audience By Booze Preference…?

 

Why did the creative team behind this Brazilian campaign for Alcoholics Anonymous feel the need to create two similar advertisements? Seems like only a serious drunk would discern the difference.