Washington Olivetto to head 2011 AdFest jury

AdFest has confirmed that Washington Olivetto will be the festival’s 2011 Grand Jury President. When AdFest’s 2010 judging was postponed this year due to political unrest in Thailand, Olivetto was disappointed when he had to decline the invitation to be Grand Jury President due to his busy schedule.

“Washington was our first choice for next year’s Jury President, so we are delighted that he has accepted our invitation to travel to Phuket next March,” says ADFEST President Jimmy Lam.

As chief creative officer of McCann Worldgroup (Latin America and Caribbean), Olivetto is one of the most awarded advertising men in the world, winning more than 50 Lions at the Cannes Advertising Festival in the Film category alone. He is a celebrity in Brazil, where he was elected the most awarded creative of the past 20 years by Profiisionais do Ano (“The Professionals of The Year”), a prestigious annual TV advertising contest organized by Globo, Brazil’s largest television network.

He was twice elected the Advertising Man of the Century by ALAP (Latin American Advertising Agencies Association) and is the author of three bestselling books. In July 2009, he entered the Hall of Fame of FIAP (Ibero-American Advertising Festival), and two months later was voted The Pride of the Brazilian Advertising in a survey carried out by About magazine among 122 leaders in the field.

Olivetto founded Brazilian agency W/, which merged with McCann Erickson Brazil in April 2010. He is a legendary creative who has played a key role in shaping Brazil’s dynamic ad industry over three decades, and he will share his insights with delegates at AdFest 2011. Olivetto is Chairman of WMcCann, and Chief Creative Officer for Latin America/Caribbean.

AdFest, which accepts entries from Australia and New Zealand, takes place on 17-19 March 2011 in Phuket, Thailand.