Joanna Monteiro has been named chief creative officer at Publicis Toronto. She will report to agency president Brett McIntosh.
Monteiro joins Publicis Toronto from Brazilian advertising agency Heads Propaganda, where she was previously CCO. Prior to that, she held a number of senior creative roles across Brazil, including CCO at FCB. She also spent time at various creative agencies such as Africa Advertising, Ogilvy, DPZ&T and W/McCann.
Monteiro brings an expansive creative pedigree to her new roost and will play a leading role in further strengthening Publicis Groupe’s focus on creativity and how it works seamlessly with data and technology to help clients. Monteiro is the recipient of 41 Cannes Lions, including a Grand Prix in the Mobile category and has received more than 200 awards and served as a jury president or juror for some of the most distinguished festivals, including Cannes, D&AD, One Show and Clios. Monteiro graduated with an Arts degree from Brasilia University (UnB), and earned her postgraduate degree in Advertising and Marketing from ESPM, one of Brazil’s top ranking institutes.
The hiring of Monteiro further fortifies a Publicis Toronto leadership team which includes EVP, head of planning and strategy Andrea Ibester who came aboard in 2019, the same year that Alister Adams was promoted to managing director and chief digital officer.
“I’ve been energized by the ambition and relentless transformation of the Groupe. Publicis has the right plan, right model and the right people to solve for the big challenges clients are facing,” said Monteiro. “I’m very excited to be part of this journey–it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with brands that I’ve admired my whole life.”
More Than A Game: Bringing Sincere Representation Of The Shawnee Tribe To Civilization 7
Shawnee Tribe Chief Ben Barnes grew up playing video games, including "probably hundreds of hours" colonizing a distant planet in the 1999 title Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
So when that same game studio, Firaxis, approached the tribal nation a quarter-century later with a proposal to make a playable character out of their famous leader Tecumseh in the upcoming game Civilization 7, Barnes felt a rush of excitement.
"I was like, 'This can't be true,'" Barnes said. "Do they want us to participate in the next version of Civilization?"
Beloved by tens of millions of gamers since its 1991 debut, Meier's Civilization series sparked a new genre of empire-building games that simulated the real world while also diverging into imaginary twists. It has captivated nerdy fans like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and a young Barnes with its intricate and addictive gameplay and rich historical context.
Choosing among leaders that can range from Cleopatra to Mahatma Gandhi, players build a civilization from its first settlement to a sprawling network of cities, negotiate with or conquer neighbors, and develop trade, science, religion and the arts. Circana, which tracks U.S. game sales, says it's the bestselling strategy video game franchise of all time.
But things have changed since the early days of Civilization. Of course, video game technology has advanced, but so too has society's understanding of cultural appropriation and the importance of accurate historical framing.
Firaxis dropped plans to add a historical Pueblo leader in 2010 after tribal leaders objected. The game incorporated a Cree leader in 2018 but faced public criticism in Canada after its release.
Developers knew that to properly represent the Shawnee leader, they would... Read More