The Work That Made Aricio Fortes
Aricio Fortes is a global creative leader with over 20 years of experience. He has led teams across four continents at agencies such as Pereira O'Dell San Francisco, Africa São Paulo, Ogilvy Brasil, DM9DDB, BBDO China, and VML Dubai, serving as chief creative officer at the last four. His personal philosophy is to never miss a creative opportunity.
Passionate about innovation and human behaviour, Aricio seeks to create insights and POP campaigns that resonate with local cultures. Among his highlights are 'Smokable Songbook' for Snoop Dogg, archived at Harvard Library; 'Mostra sua força, Brasil,' the unofficial anthem of the 2014 FIFA World Cup for Itaú Bank; 'Sending Boss to Space' for Volkswagen, a social media hit in China; and 'Ramadan 2025' for First Abu Dhabi Bank, breaking the traditional campaign codes for the occasion.
Aricio has won numerous awards working with some of the world’s largest brands, including 44 Lions for names like Walmart, McDonald’s, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, FedEx, Mattel, and LEGO. He was part of the team that helped DM9 go from zero Lions in 2008 to Agency of the Year in 2009. In 2015, he led Ogilvy Brazil to become the most awarded agency globally in the Promo category. He also served as a jury member in the Cannes Lions Brand Entertainment category in 2013 and is now on the Direct Lions jury. However, his greatest award was meeting his wife at the festival.
LBB> The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
Aricio> Michael Jackson’s music videos. Besides the most famous ones, one that really stood out to me was 'Black or White' — a mix of a music video with a scripted opening scene. And, of course, the face-morphing transitions were ground breaking at the time.
LBB> The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Aricio>Advertising in Brazil, where I was born, is a big part of our pop culture. There are so many examples from my teenage years, so I wanted to pay a small tribute to the three agencies that aired the best commercials — the ones that inspired me to become a copywriter: DM9, AlmapBBDO, and F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi. Playing one commercial from each. These are works that aren’t translated for awards shows, but if you ask any pedestrian on the street today, they’ll still know them. Little did I know back then that I would one day become the CCO of one of these three agencies.
LBB> The creative work (film/album/game/ad/album/book/poem etc) that I keep revisiting…
Aricio> Music is an endless source of inspiration for me. Anything connected to the Tropicália movement or influenced by it, like Novos Baianos.
I also love David Bowie’s work — I revisit everything about it.
Lately, I’ve been exploring the work of incredible singers I discovered after moving to Dubai, like Fairuz and Umm Kulthum. Check it out if you have the chance.
LBB> My first professional project…
Aricio> One of my first projects was during the 2002 World Cup. I was an intern and prepared ads for all our clients in case Brazil beat Germany in the final. One ad I remember was for Clearblue: 'If it’s a boy, we have 22 name options.'
LBB> The piece of work (ad/music video/platform…) that still makes me jealous…
Aricio> 'Grrr…' by Wieden+Kennedy London for Honda. It’s one of my favourite pieces ever. By coincidence, I was in London at the time with my art director, André Gola, working on a campaign, and we attended the D&AD ceremony. It gave me goose bumps — to see the entire audience whistling along with the commercial. When I think of a film that inspires me, one that has it all — insight, execution, popular appeal — it’s this one.
LBB> The creative project that changed my career…
Aricio> My first Cannes Lion was a print ad called 'Window' for Vicks by P&G — a Gold Lion. It was created at Publicis Salles Norton in São Paulo and ended up being the very first Gold Lion ever won by P&G. That moment opened so many doors for me, including an offer from DM9 while I was still in Cannes, which truly changed my life.
LBB> The work that I’m proudest of…
Aricio> I'm proud of several projects, each for different reasons. Sometimes they haven't won any awards, but that hardly matters. Here are a few from the past and present.
A 2014 World Cup campaign for a bank with a song that, due to its impact, became the unofficial FIFA anthem in Brazil, even sung by kids in schools. Created in partnership with renowned Brazilian artists Simoninha and Jair Oliveira.
A campaign at Ogilvy Brazil, 'Adopt a Fan,' which helped older children get adopted, taking a year to launch but ultimately saving many children who had little chance of adoption.
What we created at Pereira O’Dell San Francisco: 'Snoop Dogg’s Smokable Book,' for the chance to co-create something so fun with an artist like him.
And a campaign in China where we made a demanding client, who usually rejected everything, the star of his brand social films, playing a humorous version of himself.
One project I’m proud of is the latest, a brand content campaign for Dubai Tourism at VML Dubai: a pilot for a series with no continuation, starring Millie Bobby Brown and directed by Oscar winner Armando Bo. It promoted stopovers in Dubai, comparing them to watching only the pilot of a series — you’re left missing out on so much more.
LBB> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
Aricio> Two come to mind that we recently worked on here at VML Dubai:
'Safe at 3 AM' for Dubai Tourism, where we proved that Dubai is safe for women tourists by broadcasting live on TikTok a woman running a marathon alone through the city, entering every alley and street.
'Social Feed' for HungerStation, a commerce campaign to encourage Saudis to vary their menu, where we turned any food post on Instagram into a potential food order.
