L.A.-based Bully Pictures has signed director Juergen Bollymeyer for exclusive representation in the U.S….BBDO San Francisco has hired Ricard Valero as associate creative director. He comes over from DDB Milan in Italy. Valero will work on creative across a wide range of BBDO SF accounts, including Mars Pet, Vail Resorts, Harrah’s Casino, Goodwill, Henkel, Comcast Sports Network, Gallo and the San Francisco SPCA. Prior to joining BBDO SF, Valero was a senior art director at DDB Milan, and he previously held positions at Y&R Milan, Armando Testa and Euro RSCG Madrid. Among the brands he has worked for during his career have been Volkswagen, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot, Philips, Fujitsu, Hoover, H3G, Capitalia, BBVA, Pizza Hut, Moschino, Henkel, Campari, Jaegermeister, and Chicco….Ad agency NYCA in the San Diego area has added Josh Forstot has associate creative director and digital creative technologist, Emery Wescott as media & activation strategist, and Trish Pavlecich as sr. writer. Forstot was founder/creative director of HYFN in Hermosa Beach, Calif., and director of digital marketing at Skechers USA. Wescott has worked on such brands as Ketel One Vodka, Union Bank, Crystal Cruises, Taco Bell and Nestle USA. And Pavlecich has created for Vitamin Water Zero, Kodak, Ben & Jerry’s, Best Western and Newman’s Own….
Fernanda Torres’ Oscar Nomination Has Made Her Brazil’s Carnival Muse
Brazil's Carnival muse this year isn't one of the divas or drum queens parading with the Rio de Janeiro samba schools. It's Fernanda Torres, who's competing for the best actress Oscar on Sunday.
The Oscars fall smack in the middle of Carnival, Brazil's largest celebration, which runs through Tuesday. During the five-day revelry, the rest of the universe usually fades into the background as Brazilians cut loose and indulge.
Not this year, and the keen focus on the Oscars speaks to Brazil's pride for its culture and desire to be recognized on the global stage.
"Just imagine, her winning the Oscar on Carnival Sunday. It'll be a double celebration," Clarissa Salles, 33, told The Associated Press while buying a replica Oscar statuette in Sao Paulo for her costume.
Torres is nominated for her performance as the lead in the Walter Salles-directed "I'm Still Here," which is also nominated for best picture and best international feature. Excitement around the awards has prompted TV Globo, Brazil's largest network, to resume live coverage of the ceremony after a five-year hiatus. It will forgo the nationwide airing of high-ratings Carnival parades, instead broadcasting the Oscars everywhere except Rio.
Bars and nightclubs across Brazil are organizing Oscar watch parties and results will even be shown on a big screen to the tens of thousands of spectators gathered at Rio's Sambadrome for the parades.
"Today, all of Brazil only thinks about this," President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels. "Everybody is cheering for 'I'm Still Here' and Fernanda Torres at the Oscars."
As far away as the Amazon, an Indigenous community in the Inhaa-be village promoted a screening of the film on Friday. With singing... Read More