The Kid's Table

FRESH MEAT

2009-07-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

sup b*tches. i'm sherman, one of the art direction interns here at ogilvy from MAS-Miami. not gonna kill you with a loooong bio. just know i'm southern, i like sneakers and women. dats it on me. so my experience here to Sao Paulo has been pretty cool so far. Sucks cause I got sick like, day 2, and i'm still sick at day 14, so I haven't been out much. Did go out to two places; one of 'em being Villa Country. Even though the women there were great, I was so confused. I didn't know what to do in a club that played country music. So I stood there and looked at booty. Then there was Love Story. I have a love story from that place. I fell in lust with this 38 yr. old chic, but after light conversation and 40 leg rubs later, I found out she was a part-time prostitute. 300 R$??? dats 150 USD! I told her I had a smooth 10 R$. She walked away. But anyway, i'm like 75% better now. Imma go explore da city a bit more.

Mario Cart: in real life.

2009-05-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

deep in the jungle

2009-05-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

experience the beauty and the smog...

2009-05-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is the view from where we poor Ogilvy interns live, 20 stories up....

Good to meet you....

2009-05-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Jay "Raj" Savsani, Jen "Jenna" Kutchey and JP "Jao` Patricio" Schwartz

The new kids....

2009-05-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Why would our first blog entry be posted 1 month into our stay at Ogilvy? Are we slackers? Are we overworked? Maybe too much partying? Likely, a bit of all of the above. Whatever the case, we have found ourselves constantly in the middle of the excitement, with little time to blog about it. I, JP Schwartz (Art Director serving as Copywrighter), am making a small attempt at sharing a few of our experiences. I believe that pictures are much more effective than words, so enough said.

Saudade...

2009-03-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a slideshow we made for our last day at of our internship (Friday, March 13th) :(

Now we are all back in our respective countries (Lauren, Travis and me in the U.S. and Maria in Bolivia). It's very sad this experience has come to an end, but we are all really happy with the friends, work and memories we made during these SHORT, SHORT 11 weeks. The other good news is that the new interns are AMAZING and are gonna rock the house down when they get down South...

I'll post the Brazilian Boy song that Lauren, Maria and I recorded in a few days - just trying to adjust to home life (ahhh, yay tap water and flushing toilet paper IN the toilet - boo to crappy weather and missing friends). Obrigado, amigos!!!

- Elyse

Bastard Tea

2009-03-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Check out the Nestea Bastard Video:

A Very Beautiful Carnaval

2009-02-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

So Maria, Lauren and I just got back (last Wednesday) from a very happy, beautiful, relaxing Carnaval in Ilhabela. Ilhabela is Brazil's largest island and it was quite the mission to get there. First, the Metro to the bus station; then the bus to Sao Sebastiao; then the ferry to Ilhabela; and then the bus to our Pousada. It was A LOT of traveling - but totally worth it. We had 5 full days of sand and sun! My favorite souvenirs are my new pieces of funky jewelry and my tan. My least favorite are my 9 million bug bites.

Other highlights include:

Plenty of relaxing on the beach.

Beautiful beach views from the backseat of our buggy...

Multiple adventures involving our rented buggy.

Plenty of açai!

So much traveling!!!

More Carnaval pics here!

And here!

On a different note - I cannot believe we only have 2 weeks left here. This trip has FLOWN by. We are going to have to REALLY try to soak up these last few days. Ok, I have to stop blogging now. I am getting too sad :(

- Elyse

Capoeira!

2009-02-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

Monica clapping in the roda!

Maria posing next to the school's sign.

Lauren fake kicking Monica!

Luiz kicking butt in the roda.

The musicians of the roda! Awesome.

Monday night we went with Monica and Luiz to their capoeira class! I had been to a few capoeira classes before back in the U.S. but it was a whole new world for Lauren and Maria. Lauren was even brave enough to borrow some pants and a t-shirt - and practiced right along with the yellow belts.

For those of you who don't know, capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martian art. A fusion of fighting and playing, requiring strength, balance, flexibility and complete concentration.

It was awesome! There were a couple of times I thought someone was going to get kicked in the face - but that didn't happen. The instructor was very patient with Lauren and taught her how to "ginga" and do a bunch of kicks. At the end, Lauren even went into the roda - that was my favorite part. I love the music and the clapping. There is just so much energy and spirit! I told Luiz I would go again and try next week.

Tomorrow, Lauren, Maria and I are doing a girls weekend in Ilhabela. Our bus leaves at 9am and we are all very excited.

Hard to Focus...

2009-02-16T05:04:00.000-08:00

So last week was VERY eventful!!! A quick recap. Last week, we:

Went with Ruivo to "O Melhor Bolo De Chocolate Do Mundo."

And tried "The Best Chocolate Cake in the World" which really hit the spot on a rainy Sunday afternoon

I wore my new Melissa shoes!

Went to a recording studio with Ericko, Bob, Travis, Lauren and Maria...

And had a GREAT time!

Made Jell-O shots and sang Shakira!

Got a bunch of happy, sweet Valentine's due to a successful Friday Distraction called "Mailbox"

Partied with some of our favorite people in Sao Paulo at our apartment party!

LOVED being on the patio (yay for ONE night of no rain)

Realized how AWESOME Fabio is! WHY DID WE NEVER HANG OUT WITH HIM BEFORE TONIGHT?

Had an overall AWESOME time!

Saturday night was fun with Luiz and Maria Amelia - after a Wild Goose Chase, and 30 minutes in the worst club ever (Trash 80s - I swear to God they played "I Got the Power" and were SEVERELY abusing the strobe lights), we all went to New Dog and I had the best milkshake of my life (coconut flavored, of course). Sunday, Maria and I went to the MASP (Museum of Art of Sao Paulo) and walked around the Avenida Paulista area - walked around the little craft fair, got some delicious linner (half lunch, half dinner) and watched The Emperor's New Groove during a thunderstorm.

So Friday Carnival begins and I can already tell it is going to be hard to focus. As Mondays usually are, this morning has been one conversation after another of "How was your weekend? What did you do?" This weekend there was particularly a lot of questions to ask since Rafa got married! I asked Ericko and Bruno how it was and they both said it was very beautiful and very happy. AWWWWWWWWWW :)

Maybe I should try to focus now....

- Elyse

Confessions of Some Shopaholics

2009-02-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

Shoes!!!! Melissa shoes, too <3 <3
I may or may not have gone a lil crazy at the Havaiana store...
Me, Monica and Maria posing...
Us and our goodies!
Monica and Maria with the BEST popsicles in the WHOLE world.

This weekend us girls were very, very, bad :)

We went with Monica Saturday morning to Jose Paulino street - this unbelievable street in SP with just clothing store after clothing store after clothing store for about 20 blocks. The clothes are wonderfully cheap. We're talking 30$R for a dress (ahem, $15). There IS a catch though (well, a few catches, really). A) There are NO dressing rooms. The clothes are all mass produced and you cannot try them on before you purchase, and B) There are roughly 19 million people who live in SP - and it felt like HALF of them were on this street. Seriously, it was INSANE! So Monica, Lauren, Maria and I all had an exhausting day but got some GREAT buys.

After 6 hours of scavenging, we went back to our 'hood and walked down Oscar Freide street. I may or may not have gone a lil crazy in the Haviana store - and we all had a blast at the Melissa store too. Yay for shopping! Double yay for the exchange rate!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, errand running and just recovering from our crazy shopping extravaganza (my legs were definitely a little sore - out of shape?) In the evening, Ruivo took us to this little bakery called "The Best Chocolate Cake in the World" - which was a lovely contrast to the otherwise dreary, rainy afternoon.

I have NO idea how I am going to get all my stuff home...

- Elyse

Why You Should Apply to Sao Paulo for Quarter Away

2009-02-08T11:36:00.001-08:00

A brief message from your friendly, neighborhood interns - featuring a few cute locals!

- Elyse

What do Miles Young, Lamen Noodles and Samba All Have in Common?

2009-02-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

Lauren, the professional "Lamen" eater!
Ricardo approves.
Me and Ricardo.
Maria breaking her arm trying to figure out how to eat this stuff.
Ruivo making fun of her.
Leo and Maria at samba!
I have no idea what's going on here. But I like it!
Me and Natalia!
SAMBA!!!!!!!!!!
Leo, Maria, Lauren and me!

So, what DO Miles Young, lamen noodles and samba all have in common?

We experienced all three this week.

1) Miles Young: The new worldwide CEO of Ogilvy + Mather came to visit the Sao Paolo office on Thursday and it was quite exciting! The entire agency gathered around to hear Miles speak about his own personal journey as well as his commitment to the Ogilvy brand. Everyone was stoked to see him in person and it truly was quite the experience.

2) Lamen: Wednesday night Lauren, Maria, Natalia and I went to Liberdade with Ruivo and Ricardo to eat Lamen noodles. It was quite the challenge since many of us are not fluent with chopsticks - but it was still yummy. I got a hardboiled egg and butter in mine (I took Ricardo's recommendation) and my overall opinion was: fun meal, but definitely not the most delicious food I've had here. Others disagreed. {{Lauren's opinion: The Ramen was very good BUT there were not enough options and the bowls were not big enough.}} After dinner, the guys took us to this amazing bakery called Bella Paulista. It was huge and PACKED! You could get any dessert you wanted - from cakes and pies to brownies, cookies, ice cream and milkshakes. I was happy because they sold my favorite candy here (paçoca) in GIANT packs - so I bought one to take home to my family. So happy!!!!!

3) SAMBA: Ok. I have a confession. I have fallen in love while I've been here in Brazil - I am completely in love with samba. I adore samba music and my agency friends have only been encouraging this torrid affair. I listen to it all day at my desk and look forward to going, constantly. I'd go every night if I could. This week Leo took us to a samba club called Traço de Uniao and it was great! Leo thought the singers were not that great, but I disagreed! It was so much fun dancing and drinking (I had 3 capirinhas with vodka and morango - my favorite)! P.S. the way women move their hips here puts Shakira to shame).

In other news, Travis might have a future profession in doing voiceovers here in Brazil. He was asked to help do a voiceover yesterday and did so great, he might be getting future gigs! And getting paid! Looks like someone found a backup career.

This weekend our plans are still up in the air. We have a lot of errands to do (boring, yes but completely necessary - NONE of us have any clean clothes left). Saturday morning we are going shopping with Monica and who knows what the rest of the weekend will hold!

- Elyse

Ubatuba, Ubatuba

2009-02-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

Fuku, Leo, me, Maria Amelia and Luiz waiting for the gang to go to the beach!

Me eating açai!!! Yum!

Lauren & Maria with their sunscreen - they were in too much pain to rub it in.

Me, Maria, Maria Emelia, Luiz and Leo on Beach Day #2

The Interns!

More pics here!

The WORST part about going to Ubatuba beach this weekend was the fact that I kept singing the name to the song "Come on Eileen" (you know the "Tura lura" part?) "UBA-TUBA UBA-TUBA YEAHHHHHHH." Yeah, I'm lame.

This weekend, we all went with some agency guys (Fuku, Luiz and Leo - and Luiz's amazing girlfriend Maria Emelia) to Ubatuba beach. It was so much fun! We got in late Friday night and taught the Brazilians how to play "Bullshit" and they taught us how to play "Slaps" - a game the last quarter interns taught them. We stayed up drinking and playing until 5:30am.

The next morning we lazily got up around 11:30 and moseyed our way to the beach.

The ocean was amazing! So clean and blue. Felt totally refreshing. The hot Brazilian sun kicked our asses though. Even after multiple rounds of sunscreen application, we STILL got burned. HOW is that scientifically possible? I think it was all my complaining about the rain in Sao Paolo - God heard and thought "I'll show her!"

We tried açai for the first time Saturday afternoon - this really cool, frozen, sugary treat served with fruit and granola! It is my new favorite thing. Açai is REALLY trendy in the States right now (I am constantly bombarded by Facebook ads with Oprah promoting the stuff - and I SWEAR I saw açai flavored gummy bears in Whole Foods for $7 back home). Anyway, it made my teeth very purple, and my heart very happy.

Saturday night the boys cooked us a FEAST of delicious fish, beef and sausage. Fuku and Luiz manned the grill, while Leo played bartender and taught us how to make the perfect capirinha! Travis and Maria also fell in love. NOT with each other! But with this tennis racket shaped electric bug zapper. They LOVED killing the bugs clustering around the lights outside - and we loved watching them.

Sunday was beach day round 2 - we went to a larger beach with bigger waves and more surfers. Travis couldn't come though because he was SO BURNT from beach day round 1. I actually liked this beach better - mostly because we set up camp next to a little restaurant so all we had to do was wave, and this enthusiastic waiter would pop up out of no where and take our orders. We got shrimp, chicken nuggets, Coca-Colas and capirinhas. The ladies all bought beautiful earrings sold by a man with no shoes and a lot of tattoos. A big trend here in Brazil is wearing only one earring - I am excited to wear it in the States and have people tell me "You're missing an earring, you know..." Anyway, the earrings are beautiful and all of the girls got one.

At the end of Sunday we took a stroll down this "boardwalk" type area - a street with a lot of tents selling "coisas toscas" (a phrase Fuku taught me). We took photos on this little pier and drank coconut milk straight out of the coconut! We got back home to Sao Paolo around 1am and instantly uploaded all of our pictures (AND videos). Tonight I am going to edit our video footage and try to make a little ad for more MAS students to apply to Quarter Away here in Sao Paolo.

Even though the beach trip was short, we all had an amazing time. I was talking with Lauren earlier - and I said that if this weekend was the last fun thing we did the whole rest of our time here, I would say the whole trip was worth it. THAT'S how much fun I had. Obviously, we are going to have a lot more adventures in the next 6 weeks - but I REALLY enjoyed myself this weekend. It also reaffirmed my greatest Brazilian stereotype - that Brazilians are the most accepting, fun and life-loving people in the world. Their lives are awesome! Surrounded by beaches, gorgeous people and delicious food - what is there to be worried or stressed about?

And with that, we start another work week.

- Elyse

The Coriolis Effect.

2009-01-30T11:55:00.002-08:00

The Coriolis Effect is a lie!

We've all heard the horror stories.

You're innocently interning in a strange hemisphere when you feel the need to relieve yourself. The restroom seems harmless enough. It's clean and there is a fresh roll of toilet paper in your stall. You complete nature's duties and activate the flush. And that's when it happens.

The water is circling the wrong way!

Intense vertigo hits as you struggle to comprehend how this could have happened. You fall to your knees like a freshman girl at a frat party. The cold porcelain provides no comfort or shelter from the onslaught of doubt that assaults your shattered mind.

What am I doing here?

Is any of this real?

Am I real?

Did I leave the oven on?

Your world goes spiraling out of control and you are left there on the bathroom floor muttering nonsense to yourself. Just a dried up heap of what used to be a creative mind.

But don't worry.

It's just a myth.

The hemisphere has nothing to do with which way water flows down a drain.

It's okay.

The water can only hurt you if you drink it.

- Travis

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

2009-01-26T03:59:00.000-08:00

CB Bar again!

Us and our favorite popsicles!

THE ZOO!!!

When Lauren lost her shoe :(

We had a great weekend! Lauren, Maria and Travis all went out Friday night to CB Bar again with a bunch of agency people and had a really fun time. Lauren danced on the bar and then they lit it on fire!!! TOTAL fire hazard but whatever - people here don't seem primarily concerned with safety - fun is definitely the top priority.

Saturday was spent recovering from Friday night, doing laundry and going grocery shopping. Apparently you still have to do errands in other countries too. Boooooooo. Lauren also got some penicillin at a nearby drugstore - in Brazil you don't need a prescription to buy many drugs that require one in the States (i.e. penicillin and birth control). Saturday night we went out to dinner for sushi. It was funny because usually ordering sushi in the States is confusing - let alone in Brazil! We had no idea what any of the rolls were - it was definitely an adventure in itself! We got "cha" (tea) and a few plates of sushi - followed up by a delicious popsicle. We've become obsessed with this brand of popsicles here (I forget the name) - but they are made with real fruit and are so delicious!!!

Sunday was a lot of fun! Monica took the four of us to the Sao Paolo zoo and we all had a great time. The weather was also GORGEOUS! It was sunny most of the day and I think I got a little color (yippee). We saw some ridiculous animals a the zoo - my personal favorites were the "macacos" (the monkeys) - specifically I liked the chimpanzees. They were just so cuddly and cute - sharing bananas and wrestling around. I also liked the "Rhinoceros Hornbill" - a rare bird with 2 beaks that I had never seen or heard of before.

One of the funniest parts of the day happened on the Metro ride back home. We were getting off the train and Monica accidentally knocked off Lauren's flipflop! It fell down the gap between the train and the platform, and we had to get a Metro worker to turn off the electrical current on the tracks, get a ladder and go down to retrieve her fallen shoe. We kept calling Lauren "Cinderella." This little interaction was hilarious to me because NO ONE in the States would have helped get the shoe back. I could just picture the workers in the States saying "Too bad, lady. We can't go down and get that for you."

Overall, it was both an exciting and relaxing weekend (if that is even possible).

- Elyse

ASSASSINS Friday! No one is safe!

2009-01-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Today for our "Friday Distraction," the four of us coordinated a big game of "Assassins." We started some buzz around the office on Tuesday, when we sent around a cryptic email saying:

This Friday, get ready to play the first-ever game of Ogilvy Assassins. Please email us by the end of Tuesday if you are not going to be in the office on Friday - as this will affect the game. Rules and directions will be explained at a later date. And watch your back. You never know who may be trying to off you.

So today we came in at 8 a.m. to start setting up the game. Because we are limited to staying in the office building, we had to make a unique set of rules - and then had to get them translated into Portuguese (just to make sure there was no confusion). Here are the rules to our little Assassins game:

THE OBJECT OF THE GAME: Be the last person alive (i.e. the last person with his/her balloon unpopped)

The balloon at your desk is your life. Protect it. Guard it. Love it.
You may only "kill" your target.
You "kill" your target by popping their balloon.
If you are "killed," you must surrender your envelope to the person who killed you.
Do not tell anyone who your target is. I repeat, do not tell ANYONE who your target is. One last time, DO NOT TELL ANYONE WHO YOUR TARGET IS!
All "kills" must be reported to the judges.
Once your "kill" is confirmed by the judges, you will inherit your kill's target.
"Kills" may be made any time of the day on Friday, assuming your target is in bounds.
All "kills" must be made on Ogilvy property.
You may not "kill" anyone if they are in a safe zone. Safe zones include: bathrooms, elevators, stairwells or buses/cars.
If the game is not over by 7 o'clock on Friday evening, it will continue on Monday.
The judges of the game are Lauren, Maria, Travis and Elyse. Whatever their ruling is on any questionable elimination is final.

People got really into the game - creating silly balloon-popping contraptions, taking their balloons with them everywhere (some even tied their balloons to their belt loops)! It got a little messed up because a few people came in very late (because they had been at the office working until 6 am). So yeah - we probably would have started the game later in the day to make it more fair - but oh well. Live and learn.

My favorite part was the "Graveyard" we made for all the assassinated players. Lauren did a great job designing it - and my mad handwriting skillz helped make it look extra scary!

Oh - and a big Congratulations to our 2 winners, Felipe & Rafael M.!!! It was a jumpy, paranoid day for all of us :)

Pictures to come!

- Elyse

Bem Vindo President Obama!

2009-01-21T04:08:00.000-08:00

The four of us watched Obama's Inauguration LIVE on cnn.com and cbsnews.com yesterday. Some of the agency people let us borrow their stereo speakers so we could hear Obama's speech and swearing in. It was neat to still feel moved by his hopeful words, even from thousands of miles away.

Work/Life Balance on Quarter Away

2009-01-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

These last few days have taught us interns all about balance. When you're sitting in an office building from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. five days a week, you might not believe balance is possible. But as we learned last night, it's possible to still have fun after a long day of thinking and brainstorming.

Thursday night the interns and a bunch of agency people went out to this really fun, borderline dive bar called CB Bar. There was a lot of dancing and drinking. We all had a great time and ended up getting home around 4:30 am. Needless to say, Friday was a bit of a struggle. Well worth it, though!

Then for Friday's "Friday Distraction" we went to picnic in Parque Vila Lobos. We brought sandwiches, blankets and sports equipment as we enjoyed a summer afternoon both playing sports and watching other agency people play sports. It was a nice change of pace and a great break in the day - VERY much needed, considering our late and mildly inebriated evening.

The most important thing for interns on Quarter Away to remember is to both work hard AND play hard. Sure you are there to do brilliant, creative work - but you are also there to be influenced and to see life in a new way. The people at Ogilvy here really understand this concept, and are frequently encouraging us to live their culture AND make great ads. Hopefully we'll succeed in both of these areas!

- Elyse

The Real World – Sao Paolo

2009-01-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

"This is the true story of 4 MAS students picked to live in a loft, work together at Ogilvy, and have their lives blogged - to find out what happens, when people stop being polite and start making ads. The Real World - Sao Paolo."

Ok, so we might not officially be on the Real World, or be taped at all, or even be strangers, but The Real World was the best analogy I could make to our situation. And if we four Miami Ad School students are on our own special advertising/Sao Paolo edition of the Real World, then this blog is our confessional. It's a place where we can share our experiences, reflect and talk trash about each other. Ha. Just kidding about that last one. But who knows, after all - this is only our first day all together.

So let's catch everyone up quickly. The four of us are finally ALL here in Sao Paolo - all for the same reason - to make great ads at Ogilvy. None of us are Brazilian. None of us speak Portuguese. And all of us have to live up to the crazy expectations of living in the last interns' shadows (NOT easy - Carren, Jessy, Nicole & Lalo have quite the loyal fan base here). So we are all pretty overwhelmed - mostly because of flight delays and visa drama. But finally, here we are. All together. One big, happy intern family!

So we thought we'd do a little who's who first:

Lauren (Art Director, Professional Lifeguard) - the girl who looks like she's 12. Lauren loves board games, karaoke and making ice cream cakes. She's already been traumatized here in Brazil, after she couldn't buy a bathing suit because even a Large was too small (and if a Large is too small on Lauren, God help us all).

Maria (Art Director, Unofficial Translator) - the International jetsetter. Maria loves making shirts, drinking tequila and Reggaeton. She's also the only intern who arrived in Sao Paolo ON TIME - making her the most competent one of the four.

Travis (Copywriter, Resident Male and Head Chef) - the guy with the hat. Travis is a left-handed guitarist who likes guns and will never turn down a free taco. Usually not a dollar taco either, but $1.39 is too much. It's just a taco.

Elyse (Copywriter, Self-Appointed Head Blogger) - the loud girl with crazy hair. She is obsessed with reality TV, David Sedaris and summer camp. She does not eat beef, pork or chicken - not because she loves animals - but because she is so creeped out by them.

So there you have it, folks. The new Ogilvy interns! We're ready to work on live briefs, come up with awesome "Friday Distractions" and overall just be helpful and adorable. Come on over to our desk and say hello!

- Elyse

motivation to come to sao paulo qa.

2008-11-24T02:12:00.000-08:00

so if the real world experience and learning isnt enough motivation to come to sao paulo for qa, a weekend away in rio is. it could have been by far one of the best vacations ever. and let's be honest, as creative people we need a have a little fun to keep our juices flowing. this past week there was a holiday on thursday, black conciousness day, so we had off work. three of us went to rio for it, staying weds night to sunday. we did so much and saw so many things that i can't even describe or tell it all. but the pictures explain alot. there are four albums of them, too many to post. so check them out on facebook.

Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Album 4

here are a few highlights.
asa delta. ie hang gliding.
stumbled upon a samba street party in beautiful historic centro.
the cristo.
pao de azucar.
back to work today. -carren o'keefe

anselmo's birthday

2008-11-19T09:36:00.000-08:00

so it's been a little while since we've posted. only because we're been working so hard being the best interns ever. anyway, a very special occasion brings us back. it's anselmo, executive creative director's, birthday. he happened to be in atlanta the day before, so we left him a few surprises in his office for when he returned.

feliz aniversario anselmo.

[he's really quite happy.]

The Election.

2008-11-04T03:58:00.000-08:00

It's election day. We're all on our toes, anxious to see what the US is going to do. Everyone here is really into the election as well. We're going to Nicole's friends for lunch so we can watch CNN. Unfortunately with the time difference, we won't know the results until like 3 or 4am here. So the absentee ballots have been cast, and we wait.

In the meantime, a friend from New York, Stefan Haverkamp, is doing this cool project for the election. He's german and he can't vote so he figured out this way to get involved.

in the office.outside the office.
we'll see how today goes. either way, go vote. but we can see here how a small piece of brazil feels.

-carren o'keefe

2008-11-03T09:18:00.001-08:00

this sunday some of us went to see a few museums and definitely saw the better side of sao paulo. after taking two metros trains we arrived at the portuguese language museum. while understand portuguese would have been extremely helpful, it was still very interesting to see the evolution of the language including the influence english has had on brazilian portuguese. then across the street was pinacoteca park and museum. we sat at the cutest cafe and had the best coffee. then we visited the three story museum. it was enormous. rooms and rooms of art, from sculptures and 20th century to pop art and 18th century. after a good 2 1/2hrs we still didn't see anything.

the park.

an exhibit on the paint of the teatro en rio de janeiro. including all the underpaintings he compiled to paint the entire thing.
underpaintings:

this entire piece of art is made from...

...numbers.

the main exhibit was of marie bononi. a sao paulo artist most known for creating art using impressions of things like wood and metal. not only are her prints beautiful but the sculptures themselves are works of art.

the seven layers of humanity.

these molds are made from textures throughout the city of sao paulo.

it poured on our way home. the glory of opposite seasons and it being spring here.
the train ie subway here is really efficient. it's also very clean. we were surprised. we used it to go everywhere for only $R2.40.

the language museum. the kiosk that allowed you to explore all the words that have influenced Portuguese.

Like x-burguer.

or, in English, Cheeseburger. [x in portugeuse is shees]

then we hit up Liberdade for the street fair in Japan town. they had the most amazing food for really cheap. shrimp skewers for $R1 and Yakisoba for $R8. complete with meat on a stick and beer.

graffiti in japan town.

the street fair.

-carren o'keefe

You can dance if you want to!

2008-11-03T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our Halloween party! so much fun!
-Lalo

halloween from the gringoes.

2008-11-02T05:04:00.001-08:00

halloween is one of our favorite holidays. here they don't really celebrate it. a little bit. so we thought we'd bring halloween to them including costumes and bobbing for apples at the office. followed by a halloween party at our flat.

we're basically just a bunch of bad asses.
our resident unicorn in the office.
elephants and walruses.
and rabbits.
then we bobbed for apples. even one of the creative directors did it. they thought they could get an apple without sticking their head in. they were wrong.

then we had to carve a pumpkin. although pumpkins are hard to find around here, we got this interesting looking one.
then it was party time. i was clearly party police. and lalo, well, he was seamen.
definitely a good holiday. strange thing. because there is no thanksgiving here, it's officially christmas season. complete with bar decorations and a christmas tree in our lobby. last night we ventured to Liberdade. [Japan town.] Definitely one of the cooler places we've been so far. The authentic Japanese was amazing followed by karaoke at a dive bar with the craziest decorations.

laterns down all the streets.crazy decorations at karoake bar.

complete with cheesy 70s christmas decorations. love it.

work hard. play harder. so cliche. so true.

2008-10-24T06:50:00.001-07:00

so we're coming to find that people work for 12 hours then party for 12 hours. just to show up, refreshed. i've always had pride in my irish and native american decent [ie engineered to be an alcoholic] but i shamefully admit, i can't keep up. we're sitting at work and the 'kids table' is hating their lives while everyone else who drank as much or more, is going about their business being productive.

at a samba bar. the live samba band.

how the end of the night looks.

if anybody needs me today, i'll be at the water cooler.

-carren o'keefe

the weekend and the pitch.

2008-10-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

probably one of the best things about såo paulo is the people who work at the agency. friday night was a party for a few people at the office's birthday. ogilvy definitely believes in working hard and playing harder.

speaking of hard work. our first project when we got here was working on a coca cola pitch for the US hispanic market.
we got a call from atlanta today: WE GOT THE ACCOUNT! this is huge for the agency. especially after the news last week that they scored the burger king account. [which meant whoppers for the entire agency.]ogilvy definitely has it's perks. fingers crossed for an endless supply of coca cola tomorrow.

new briefs in the work: hellmann's, orient watches, and mattel Myscene dolls [very good friends of barbie, incase you didnt know.]

-carren o'keefe

sexXxta-feira

2008-10-21T14:56:00.001-07:00

as interns we're in charge of friday distractions. just something fun on fridays to loosen everyone up. well this friday, for our first distraction, we decided to do porno friday. [sexual harassment laws don't apply here] complete with legs on the coffee machine:

boob and penis necklaces:

an insert your face here porno drawing:

and last but certainly not least, an ass piñata [complete with brazilian thong]:

[the making of.]
[and the aftermath.]
-carren o'keefe

intern culture observations.

2008-10-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

so obviously being in brazil a few things are different culturally and this morning, because i'm avoiding work, i feel they deserve mention. first and foremost, you don't flush toilet paper. none. you throw it in the trash beside the toilet and it's taken out various times throughout the day.

second, maids or housekeepers are very common here. most houses even have a room built in for them and it's not included in the bedroom count. i have to say not only is it saving the marriage between roommates, but i'm becoming spoiled. we leave in a rush in the morning with 500 dishes in the sink, comforters thrown everyone, stuff all over the floor. and when we return after a twelve hour work day, dishes are done, beds made, entire house picked up and organized. i may have to live in south america for the rest of my life based purely on this fact. when i go home for christmas i'm going to be very upset, when i come home and my stepmom hasn't made my bed.

if you are a carnivore, you will love the cultural difference of meat, meat, and meat. meat is the primary food of choice. usually grilled and all you can eat. all you can eat buffets are huge here. that or you pay by the kilo. while place exist where you just go and order, 'rodizo' [where they come to your table with endless meats] and buffet are the norm. breakfast is usually small here, with a cafe com leite [coffee and milk] and a pastry. lunch is the main meal of the day. at the office we get a two hour lunch, usually taken at the mall thanks to a bus provided by the agency. an hour to eat and an hour to shop. i think i'm in heaven. lunch is also the biggest meal of the day. you can forget just eating a sandwich. then they have a light dinner usually around 9pm. we thought our eating schedules were totally thrown off when we first got here, until we realized it was the culture. also, noone eats anything with their hands. if they do, they wrap it in a napkin.

you might as well drink beer because its cheaper than water. here you don't drink the tap water, so you order agua com or sem gas. flat or bubbly. a cerveja, will run you just as much. here a beer from the tap is called a 'chopp.' it's super fresh and the best kinda. it comes in light and dark. there is bottled beer too, but its very different for some reason. they tried to explain to us why, something about freezing then unfreezing. i just said, ill stick with the chopp. and some helpful information to know: 'cheapest beer' is cerveja mais barata.

speaking of beer, the club format is a little different here. when you go in they take your name and give you a card. then when you go to the bar to order a drink, they put it on your number. you pay everything at the end when you leave. this is a good thing and a bad thing. to them, its more convienent not to have to pay everytime. to an american girl who only takes so much money to control her drinking, not such a good thing. you even pay the cover at the end.

the biggest cultural difference: everyone is nice. and i'm not just saying that. everyone here is so nice and tolerant if you don't know the language. not just at the agency, but everywhere. i was at the mall trying to buy a pillow case and i told the lady i didnt know portuguese, a line you will soon learn to say, and she used the point and act method to explain everything. then took me to the register with twelve pillow cases and rang them all in so i could see the prices instead of trying to understand her. people are just nice for the sake of being nice. i think that has been the biggest culture shock of all so far.

-carren o'keefe

we survived our first week as davids.

2008-10-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

we survived the first week. let me just say, if you want real world experience, ogilvy såo paulo is the place to go. since the moment we stepped foot in this office last monday, we've been treated as equals and given real work to do. not just bitch work and getting coffee. but the hard work is definitely mixed with play time. like samba lessons in the office:

we've come to learn that ogilvy is fueled by two things: coffee [cafezinho] and tequila.

[note the lollipop. we are still the kid's table]

we've done everything this week from family photos:

to eating ice cream in ibirapuera park.

it's been stressful and amazing but every night we get to go home to this view from our balcony.

hellooo sao paulo. we're ready for week 2.

-carren o'keefe

meet the new kids.

2008-10-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

the new david's have arrived. meet the family. carren o'keefe, nicole martinez, jessy kennedy, and lalo carter.

-carren o'keefe

WE HAVE ARRRIVED!!!

2008-10-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

alright....so yesterday was our first OFFICIAL day as paulistas. we did all kiiiiiinds of shit. where to begin??? i guess at the beginning. i woke up and rolled out of bed, walked/stumbled about five steps to the roof deck and went outside in my undies and realized: holy shit...im waking up in brazil!!! AHHHHHHH!!! it was pretty dark and cloudy but the view was still really fantastic. i put on my headphones and did a quick bar warm up to some bobby digital. the drama song is sooooo my SP arrival theme song. anyway, yeah...i hung out up there for awhile and had yet ANOTHER evita moment while i checked out what my neighbors were up to, then it started to drizzle so i went and kicked it with the ladies. we were waiting for raf but totally starving, so we ventured out on our own to find breakfast and coffee. i think it is pretty safe to say that EVERYTHING here is authentic...it turns out that all of the tourists go to RIO so in SP (or at least this area) its real local and chilllll....and its probably the ONLY place in the world i can go to as an american where they dont totally hate on me! they're actually siked to see us, even if we dont know portuguese very well. so i had a MASSIVE omelete with cheese, onions, pork, corn and peas...on top of a bed of rice...and beans...and FRENCH FRIESSSSSS!!! it seems like they try to squeeze in french fries with every meal here! which is sooooo okay with me!!! evvvvveryone knows that nite loves french fries...in a very intense and sometimes frightening way hahahahah. oh annnnd a bunch of these places sell fresh juices and the MANGA kills me with every sipppppp...its like a fucking icey fruity heaven. AMAZZZZZZING!!! so then we went a serious mission to find apartment shit and went waaaaaaay down TEODORO (thats a main drag by our crib.) its alllll furniture stores and instrument shops....allllllll the way up and down! and the furniture is beautiful and the wood...ughhhhhh...i died everytime i looked in a window...BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLL!!! they use woodgrain in the most amazing ways. anyway, there is a major election here today (for mayor) and everyone was out promoting their candidates....trucks with bumping music and people dancing with flags on top of it and flags flags flags everywhere! after shopping, we went and checked out the antique fair...that was dope because in the us, flea markets are now selling NEW and CRAPPY shizzzzz. this one had real stuff! BUT we are not yet comfortable enough with the language to haggle. as soon as they hear english, everything is 400 reais hahah. soon. very soon. we shall shop. i took a shit ton of pics. then we came home and kicked it, then met up with raf for liquid lunch that turned into dinner. he took us to the dope part of town, which is the neighborhood right next to mine. while we were shopping earlier, i was like, where the fuck are all of these beautiful brazilian people we hear so much about!?! well, we found them. alllllllllllll. hahaha at the nice bars and restaurants, everyone was dressed nice and having a great time. Actually, no one was like, particularly gorgeous or anything, but they didnt look as native as the people on teodoro. and they had money and really sick jeans (the jeans here are cut to PERFECTION...i must get some) it took forever to get a table though. in true south american fashion, NO ONE was moving. just totally maxin out with their homies getting drunk. we stood out front of a cafe for over an hour waiting for a table, but we drank some DELICIOUS beer while we waited (the beer is great here). they brought us a chair, put a bucket of ice with a 40 oz beer on top of it and brought us 4 little cups. raf explained that they use the small cups so that the beer stays SUPPPPER cold. which is fucking GENIUS. duhhhhh! america, get on that...what a smart wonderful fantastic stupendous idea. anyway, after our third or fourth 40, we were def a little drunko and dipped to another spot because it was more than clear that no one was moving. so then we left, got more beer and a table FULL of meat hahah...god DAMNNNNNN i love it here! oh my god...the pork sausage...the CHICKEN...everything. fucking EVERYTHING is delicious!!! we met up with a boy who will be interning with us there, then raf left and we kicked for a bit but eventually walked home. since the election is today, they played all of the futbol games yesterday, so by the time we were walking home, everyone was wasted and cheering for their teams. buses driving by us with dudes literally out of the window SCREAMMMMMING hahahah! and all of a sudden every bar was playing loud music and cheering BRASIL BRASIL BRASSSSIIIILLLLLLLL! it was a blast! but i was totally wiped out after that. i was planning on swimming but it never happened. i had not called home yet, and we failed "operation: get cell phones" and i was getting really frustrated with my calling card, so i skyped ELI and my parents. i had to tell them each the same stories and then i was REALLY beat, so we all chilled out and laid around. a dude from the agency picked us up around 12 or so and we had our first night OUTTT!!! it was really fucking weird at first though...well, i guess i should preface that, as soon as JP pulled up to our place, the sky OPENED up and started POURING. our doors were flying open and the wind was insane and things were getting wet and there was crazy lightening, so yeah...traffic SUCKEDDDDDDD! we got to the club (finally) and they do the weirdest shit...they give you these cards with numbers that you show the bartender each time you order a drink, then, at the end of the night, you pay the door girl on your way out. i know...fucking WEIRD! they even add in the cover charge to it! i could not, for the life of me, understand it at first. i was so confused hahaha!!! so yeah, its our first night out in brazil, we meet up with a guy from the agency and a few of his friends who all worked together for leo burnett in lisbon for a year and are now besties. they were greattttt! so awesome! but the music was, get this, AN AMERICAN COVER BAND!!! aaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahah i know i know i KNOWWWWWW!!! ridiculous!!! it was so fun though! after awhile, we were all being completely retarded and having a great time. annnnd the dj played this song that i LOVEEEEEE between sets. i believe its called something along the lines of "wet that pussy". i heard it for the first and only time at a strip club in montreal last new years!!! HAHAHAH i was uncontrollably excited when i heard it. but then, sadly, they just played really crappy techno. which is exactly what i expected to hear here. BUTTTT...i DID learn one verrrry important thing there. "DANCA DO MAXIXE!!!" that is the sandwich dance. a little "night at the roxbury", a little "full monty", a little dirty, a little uncomfortable, and a lot exciting hahaha. really it was just us being drunk and ridiculous and the boys stupid inside joke with some gay guy from work that wasnt even there HAHAHA. i am actually, right now, looking at a list of things that i am supposed to tell this guy! we went out for CHEEEEEEESEBURGERS (uh! this country is soooo going to be home for me if this is the norm....just lots of meat and booze...its more than words) around 4 or 5 and i was given colombian money and a script (of all this silly shit) to study for my first day of work hahaha. then we came home and i passsssed out. i didnt even want to go out (obviously i am sooooo glad i did) because i was exhausted, so yeah...the girls stayed downstaris and talked but i was out like a light. i dont fuck around with sleep, kids...its the most important thing for your body...TRUUUUUTH!!! so yes...our first day as PAULISTAS was a definite success.

Random Cultural Observations: Part 2

2008-09-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Random Cultural observations: Part 2

Taxi drivers might not always know where you're trying to go, city is too big with too many streets, but will at least engage in riveting conversation. People usually sit in the front seat of taxi's here, even if there going solo.

Good looking Brasilian girls can and will try to enter a foreign country without a visa. So long as they play that perfect balance between flirting and trying to convince the customs officer they are not a prostitute.

The first shot of "pinga" you can usually turn over fairly easily. 2nd is harder, by the third you find out why they call it fire water. Fourth, fifth and sixth have somehow gone down, with not much recollection how. Helps to have a chopp as a chaser.

Carnival greasy fair food here is delicious. Pastels have cheese or some other filling which you get piping hot right out of the fryer. Sugar cane juice is made from actual crushed sugar cane, crushed by a generator powered sugar-cane-krusher. Comes out green and thick and not as sweet as you would think, but satisfying none the less. Cod is not as good as in the homeland though.

São Paulo is full of hipsters, and I mean like "close your eyes and open them you will think you are in Williamsburg" real deal hipsters. Funny because there is a barrio named "brooklin", I wonder if the hipsters here would find it ironic to live in the brasilian brooklin?

Moto-boy's - do not stick your hand out of a car stuck in traffic! Moto-boy's are dude's riding small engine motorcycle's that weave in and out of traffic with no regard for traffic law's. Car diver's generally hate them. Best not to mess with them as they tend to stick together and defend themselves.

São Paulo is a city with everything, where you can eat world cuisine during the day and have any type of music or club at night. Not a touristy city in the traditional sense, like with stuff to see, but no comparison if you want to "comer é beber," eat and drink. Impossible not to gain weight here. Ahhh this life is... easy to get used too.

Errors in Translation: Part 2

2008-09-12T07:51:00.001-07:00

Other not-so-funny errors presenting ideas for Rafa's class.

Copo de José for Cup O' Joe, american slang for coffee.

Steven "tartaruga-the turtle" Segall

"Oura mesmo, e comei uma catinha preta" for - I totally dated a black chick.

"E uma 'manda a merda' quando fas sozinho" - It's a crapshoot when you do it yourself.

How I got Brasilian street cred...

2008-09-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

So you have look pretty shady if you are randomly stopped and searched by Brasilian cops while walking home minding your own business...right? But I mean, shady by Brasilian standards? Thats like, real dodgy. Maybe had I shaved that day and not grown a mustache, sh*t like that wouldn't happen to me. Though I did remember, you can demand to see the US consul if you are a citizen and arrested in a foreign country. That's your right, right? I think I remember it printed on my passport. I better go double check...

Errors in Translation: Part 1

2008-09-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

If you are coming to Brasil and learned how to speak Portuguese in Portugal you must remember there will be words that are different, even though it's the same language. I won't get into all of them here, but one of the more important ones to remember is that a nice cute little word for butt (rear end) in Portugal Portuguese, is a very dirty Brasilian Portuguese word for asshole. This could lead to some interesting reactions when used casually in conversations. Warned

So basically we had this idea for Gillette razors involving a baby butt and a beard, my poor translation ended up being "Cute little baby asshole with blood on it" Raf did not stop laughing for 2 weeks.

Prank-Pegadinha

2008-08-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

So we had to do a candid camera type prank for Rafa's class. What did we decide to do? Fill Brasil's largest ad agency's elevator with a sh*tload of balloons thats what! Timed right after everyone was coming back from lunch, the building's elevator was filled with balloons, an ipod playing prom tunes, and a party boy. See everybody's crazy reactions. We won an awesome prize too, expired movie premier passes for the latest Mummy movie!

Random Cultural Observations: Part 1

2008-08-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

A List of things that are different in Brasil from half a gringo...

You can't flush toilet paper here. That's a big one, you would think the pilot on the plane would remind you of that, or at least it's in big letters on your visa application. Because no one will go out of their way to tell you that, even though you were wondering why there is a wastebasket next to every toilet.

Food and beer= good. Brasilian beer is all summer beer, drinking at the beach variety, and all the brands tend to taste similar. Chopps are the draft beer you order at beers and restaurants, which have a thick head. You order those light or dark with the dark variety being a less strong and creamy Guinness type black beer. It is pretty much the only variety of taste you can find. Still, the beer is delicious and cheap. Food is, meat meat meat, plenty of good dead cow on your plate if you want it. Rice and beans and the fries will usually be pretty good. BBQ is called churrasco here, with meat seasoned with just rock salt, and grilled; delicious. Lots of sushi and eye-talian restaurants too.

Car=bad traffic and lot's of congestion, makes New Jersey traffic look tame in comparison. All the cars are much smaller, 1.5 liter engines are on the big side. The are all either black or white or shades of grey. Not much color on the highway's for flamboyant Brasilians. Unlike Europe where most of the cars are diesel. Cars here run on gasoline, alcohol or natural gas. But Brasil is completely energy independent and lots of newer cars run on alcohol made from sugar cane, which americans call ethanol. It ends up costing about 2.85 a gallon which suddenly sounds pretty fair.

Inter-gender kissing, just one cheek, not two like most European and Latin countries or three like the Netherlands, I know because I keep getting left hanging on the second kiss.

The language-not Spanish, nothing like it in fact. I'm pretty sure no one would understand a word of spanish here, they hardly understand my Portuguese and it's the same language, granted I am speaking my second language which sounds to Brasilians like England English sounds to Americans. O well, at least it's unique and it keeps me from standing out too much like a gringo. Of which there are none of and you will stick out speaking English or any other language. São Paulo is not a very international city like New York or Amsterdam.

City of São Paulo, weird in the fact that there isn't like a downtown, central part of the city. There is, but it's not like the only place you see big buildings and is not the center of the economics or nightlife. Very latin america in that you will see big luxury apartments next door to run down buildings. No straight or planned streets anywhere, and traffic is prevalent all over the place. City is sprawling and every direction you look it doesn't stop. Neighborhoods are barrios, and each has it's own personality. Big-up to Pinheiros!

Give your career a tropical boost.

2008-08-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Ogilvy São Paulo always recruits top notch Miami Ad School Interns. To further raise the agency's profile, we present a recruitment video with super high production values. With much scrounging we stayed under the 300,000 real budget. After viewing this, who wouldn't want to come here?

A backlog of the Spring Blog

2008-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Backlog...
June 10, 2008

We did it. After a long long weekend of incredibly late nights and weeks on weeks of concepting, we pulled out two, the only two, campaigns that the client loved. Mini BiS is over for the MAS (Miami Ad School to those Pippa is worried about confusing) kids and it feels sooooo good. We beat out two senior teams on what has been widely discussed as the best brief of the year for Ogilvy&Mather Sao Paulo.

It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. Each and everyone of us would stay on in a heartbeat if we were given the chance. There is just so much opportunity to do really smart work here. I was afraid, jumping in, that language was going to be a wall I bumped into repeatedly. It hasn't been. Mostly thanks to the incredible generosity and helpfulness of the creative staff here. They have chauffeured us, translated for us, waited for us, advised us, and challenged us. In this incredibly short (much much too short) period of time, they have become a part of our family.

As for our little rogue team of four ex-pat wonderkids, the journey has taught us a lot. There were plenty of growing pains and moments of cultural divide, but at the end of the day, we have dirt on each other, we love each other, and we will miss our little MAS Brazil quartet. I remember when the boys moved into their own place, how badly we missed them. Now that we are going our separate ways (3 to NY and 1 to MIA) it strikes me how honored we were to work together.The office has already moved our desks. Samira leaves in 2 days. Our final review with Anslemo is this evening. Things are coming to a close. For the interns next quarter... they won't love you as much as they loved us (we made them promise.)

May 28th, 2008

We are still working on our mini chocolate-covered wafer wonders. The concepts, good, the executions, not far enough. Imagine, they are telling us to have more fun. This is the sort of thing that creatives with real clients would give a left, cough, pinky to hear. It's in times like these that we are realizing just how much we have to learn in the execution department. The push back is a little painful, but we are all overjoyed to have it. It's why we are here. We want to be pushed. At MAS we produce idea after idea after idea but with a week turnover on most campaigns, there is little time to get past "cool concept and solid execution" to "cool concept and sick execution." We need this. Today we have to ignore reality. We have to go all skittles on this 'yotch! Prayers, well wishes, and insane YouTube videos are more than welcome.

P.S. 2.5 weeks... can we please stay?

May 26th, 2008

Another week has gone…. Sing it like Michael Jackson’s “You are not alone” tune.
So besides concepting, we played because all work and no play can suck the creativeness out of you. We had another four-day weekend and besides the usual weekend drinking binges, we finally made it to the beach. Meg and I went to Itanhaém with our friend Andre on Friday while the boys went to Maresias on Saturday. Itanhaém was heaven. Sunshine, caprinhas, beach hair, a few freckles, men in Speedos, fresh fish and shrimp, we couldn’t have asked for more.

The Four and their fearless leader at a pique-nique in the parque. These were always awesome with dancing, live music, and soccer for 2 hours on a Friday.

May 14th, 2008

-I’ve learned there is little difference between 13 year old boys and 30 year old boys.

-Women check women out as much as any man ever does. You have to feel the grass to know if the color is greener.

-It doesn’t always have to happen now.People need warning.

-Fight for your ideas, even if you will lose.

-Talking to people is the surest way of making friends.

-Never limit your expectations of people; they are capable of incredible generosity.

-If someone asks for an ID, don’t give them your whole

purse.

-Find out if someone is deaf before you think they are ignoring you.

-A person’s drunken nature has little to do with his propensity toward goodness.-Small hands make the things in them look bigger (hahahah, Sam).

-I am really tall. This one boy talked to my crotch all night and he wasn’t being crude in fact, he was a perfect gentleman. He slow danced with my crotch

and even offered to buy it a drink.

-Brazilian men are just boys w

ith hairy chests. Our friend Vinni has a jungle under his shirt and if you put your head on his chest, you can hear the elephants.

-Men drive small cars. There is saying in Brazil,"small cars big......" unfortunately I do not have any evidence to back that up.... yet.

-Women like to bare their midriffs. They believe in the “if you’ve got it flaunt thing.” Even the ones who don’t got it.

-Almost everyone has tattoos.

So you have to have real scars like 300 stitches to be considered a bad ass.

-I am the only Indian in Sao Paulo. But they still expect me to speak Portuguese.

(The São Paulo football game from VIP- Thanks to JP we all have a team south of the equator)

-Futbol is a religion. I am slowly being converted.

-The graffiti beats any museum I have

been to. Plus yo

u don’t have to pay 20 something to app

reciate art, you just look outside your window.

-Toga parties aren’t a good idea. Yup people were a no-show but luckily we have enough alcohol left over to drown our “ no one likes us” sorrows. I have been drunk for fifteen days.

-Breaking into an apartment building is easy. I may not need another loan.

-The uglier the clothes, the more expensive. Like seriously, fluorescent polka dots doing the polka, R$ 5000.

-You can’t buy a bikini bottom that covers your ass. So you must have a nice ass, high self-esteem or a man that loves you "just the way you are."

-Brazilian men ARE hot. It is not a myth.

-You can do the samba during work.

-You can also tie someone to their

chair but not naked or anything.

-Tug of war may cause extreme rope burn.

So while you guys gather around the water fountain, we play tug-o-war! Ha!

May 9th, 2008

At 4 the festivities began. We laid out the rope. We marked the sides. We called the teams. Everyone was divided into one of four teams... The Transformers, The ThunderCats, The Changemen, and The GI Joes. The first Tug-o-War went down between the Changemen and the ThunderCats. The ThunderCats (my team) may or may not have been a little larger which could have given us the edge that pushed us to victory.

I promise, it was a fluke and no stacking, drugging or Nancy Keriganism occurred.

Then the second set stepped up. Bob, the American Brazilian took his place with the Transformers team. The GI Joe team looked small in comparison until the 'big guy' at the agenc

y came strutting across the room to join them. Everyone erupted in applause. The game was called for the Transformers when the force of Bob against the GI Joes broke the rope.

May 8th, 2008

Dennis, one of our CDs, invited us to go to one of the biggest production house in Sao Paulo. It was a huge warehouse with bamboo interior and metal walls and two of the biggest photo studios we have seen. They were huge! It was so nice that we got invited to see that. They were discussing the details for a book they are working on. All the conversation was in portugues, but we understood most of what was happening on the table. We know, tough life! So, we decide that the best way to honor this was by throwing a party at the girl’s place; well known for parties before our arrival.

After some drinks and good laughs we went out to a place called Vegas Club.Vegas is a colourful place where electrofunk and house music plays on the top floor and the best hits of the 80’s on a dancer floor in the basement. The basement is where we found ourselves jumping and singing aloud “Freedom” by George Michael, ending our night like real rollers.

April 29th, 2008
Monday was the presentation. Last minute they decided that it would be good to take me and have me present in English.

It was a really cool experience. I realized in the car on the way to the client that, being surrounded by Rubins, the creative director, and the account planners (all women) that this was the biggest compliment anyone could have given our group. The presentation went really well. There were points of contention, suggestions, ground lost and ground gained.

Rubins assured us that some of our creativity will be re-infused when we have the influence of a director on our side.

April 25th, 2008

We went out to Bob’s Birthday party. We had way too much fun and when Fabio took us to our home the car was so packed that Cesar had to sit on my (Mathias’) lap in the front seat. Poor Cesar... when I told Fabio “Take all the bumps of the street!!!” Cesar's face turned white... I had fun and he was, in the end, very happy...

The Four at the very first X-Games Brazil has ever hosted... never let anyone tell you there are no perks in this industry.

April 18th, 2008

And yes... Our idea went to the client and got approved! We have to create

a 360 campaign of the idea so we have to go... Oh and it was ketchup.

April 17th, 2008
All things said, we stepped out of the building tonight with the air of satisfaction puffing our lungs and the gait of four people who are doing what they love.

April 15th, 2008

Our livers began to complain around 5 am so we decided to call it a night but not before making a royal exit. We sang Argentinean songs, took ridiculous pictures (which will not be shared) and even lay on the sidewalk. Good times. And it has only just begun.

April 14th, 2008

A man dressed all in white came out of nowhere and started teaching the girls samba moves. The whole office stopped working for some time to enjoy the show. Then, we spent a couple more hours rethinking our ideas, then we just gave up and start worrying about our masks for the night’s party. As we were unsuccessful in finding anything interesting to print out and make our own, we left work and tried to find a place to buy masks for the rest of us. It was already 8:30pm and the only place we found open was a sex shop, so leaving us no other choice, we got some masks there.

It was a crazy night. We ended up in our apartment finishing the party at dawn and got to see our first sunrise in Sao Paulo.

April 11th, 2008

So... upon entering we found the

beer and Erick and started down the rabbit hole. This bar had been transformed to a US, Midwest, Rock-a-billy wonder. Dubbed Tiki night, a few grass skirt were pelted and attached to the walls as trophies of some Hawaiian kill. Erick's band is a cover band, the only of it's kind in Brazil, that has 11 members and a swinging big band sound. We dance, we jumped, we made friends, we watched the pros cut a rug, and at 4 am we fell into bed dreading the sound of alarm-clocks. Mathias dropped Cesar on the cement attempting some sort of crazy boy swing stunt. Cesar is walking like he is 60.

Stats for the evening...
Wounds : 1, Drinks : unsure, New friends : 2, Struggling interns : 4, Proud Raf's : 1.

April 10th, 2008
Yesterday was Daniel's B-day (one of the creatives) and we went to eat a very typical dish... Feijoada (black beans, rice, meat, chicharrones, sausage and other good stuff.) Of course, we had to drink cachaca with the food. Raff gave us a shot of cachaca with black bean juice and garlic... it was ok, not the best drink I've ever tried. A little gassy if you know what I mean...
We continued concepting till 9 pm and then went to the apartment to keep working, but we needed some kind of distraction, so we had to drink one bottle of wine for each one of us. A happy day has to end in a happy way...

April 8th, 2008
We got our first brief and then we went to the MAS/ESPM school with Raf. We got to see the Brazilian school, which is not the same as the other MAS schools, this one is located on one of the floors of a huge college campus. It makes you feel like you are really going to study. Later on we were invited to see their guest speaker of the month.
Gualter Pupo one of the directors from HUNGRYMAN, one of the most known and successful production companies worldwide!

April 7th, 2008

Today is dia 1. We arrived at Ogilvy Sao Paulo in style with a man named Fabio. No flowing golden locks but a good man never the less. We met our fearless leader, Raf when we arrived at our cafeteria-style office and he started us off on our way to creative greatness. Three coffees and an inspirational speech later, this blog was born. We are Samira, Cesar, Matias and Meg and we are the newest creatives at Ogilvy Sao Paulo.

How people come to Brazil

2008-07-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

We thought it might be interesting to our readers to see how the selection process works at Ogilvy Sao Paulo for the interns. The captain of choice is one former Miami Ad Schooler and portfolio reviewer extraordinaire. We are not going to mention his name because we don't want anyone to contact him directly for jobs. For now, we'll just call him Prof. While questions of his sexuality have arisen in the past, bringing three latin boys of various shapes and sizes to learn under his tutelage has solidified the rumors that anyone who wants to achieve here, he has to have a Y chromosome and delicate hands. In the following entry we are going to discuss how to appeal to Prof. in 4 simple steps.

1. Learn to touch your ankles. Flexibility is key in dealing with Prof's demands.

2. Don't use priests in your ads. Prof, had a nasty run in circa 1986 which has left him unable to process their inherent humor.

3. Include a photograph and a MySpace link in your resume. This should be obvious, but some people are oblivious.

4. A broad knowledge of Dove's product offerings and an ease of use with their lotions.

We hope this has been helpful in your efforts to become an intern at Ogilvy.

Hi and something about the table Order.

2008-07-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hi!

You may not know who I am but here goes a hint. If you ever been to Ogilvy&Mather's creative department in São Paulo on the 3rd floor there's a table where only men are sitting at. They call themselves "Mesa 1" - the "Table 1" and play loud music, make jokes about every single person they can (using the professional audio system and speakers they installed on their table - hard to see that in another agency huh?!), laugh about how ugly they actually are (na, they haven't realized that yet) and advertise products like "Magrilla" (a new version of a George Forman Grill they invented for a Brazillan boxer). And are most important of all, actually hard working dudes. Well I'm not one of those guys (not from Table 1 - Yeah I am a hard worker!). Unfortunately I do not take part in the elite of Table 1 (yet - you know in Brazil politics take a little longer). Just jump one table and you'll see what we like to call "The Kids Table". Our table is composed by 8 young advertisers (2 Girls, take that Table one! Ha!) of which 4 are MAS interns. Meg, Steven, Davi and me Sascha (for the Brazilian readers: no! I'm not a girl!). We came to Ogilvy because of one man: Rafa. (well Meg maybe because of another one but that's a long story). Rafa is the feared leader of the Table 1 and our teacher in a special class aimed only at winning Competitions and that takes part once a week here at Ogilvy (pretty cool huh?!). A man who can play 18 holes (in golf) and still walk! (I see a contrapost from Rafa after that little joke).

This is the blog that is going to tell you the stories about all of us, about the agency, about this amazing city and country and of course about Brazilian advertising at it's best.

Wait and see,

Sascha