Is this the coolest club in Brazil?

Last night, my wife and I went clubbing... something we haven't been doing that often.  We went to what is considered by many as Brazil's coolest club: Green Valley located in Camboriu, a well-known beach in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

Everything about this place is amazing.  Picture a massive tent with the main stage, open-air bars and a lounge-style pavillion with different DJs all in the middle of a lush tropical vegetation with world-class electronic music.   UK DJ Johnathan Ulysses was the main guy on the stage last night.

For anyone involved in marketing, it's essential to, whevever you can, go out to see and experience what people are doing, drinking, dancing.... whatever, especially away from your home turf.   It's easy to get cozy and end up doing pretty much the same things on weekends.  I loved the experience and will certainly try to do more of these things more often. 

Take a look at the venue's promo video below to get a little bit of the vibe of the place.  

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Cows, cows, cows invading Sao Paulo!

I just got back from the launch event of Cow Parade Sāo Paulo - one of the world's largest public art movements where local artists paint over fibeglass sculptures of cows.  These exhibits have happened all over the world from Zurich (where it all started back in 1998) to Tijuana, Chicago, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Dublin, Taipei, Sydney just to name a few.  At the end of the 3-month event, the cows are auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity.   Here are a few photos that I took that will give you a little flavor of this amazing display of work.

We are one of the event sponsors with our Toddy Brand, an obvious choice since this is a brand that has irreverent cows in its DNA.  Instead of just displaying a cow with a logo on its back (which unfortunately a few brands end up doing) we decided to get more experiential.  Our digital agency CuboCC came up with a very cool concept.  Three street artists were commissioned to collaboratively paint our cow allowing the public to see these guys actual work and interact with them.  The entire process can be followed on Facebook and will be made into a short documentary. 

Here are a few shots of the first local artist we're using called Cusco.

Toddy Organico - our first organic product

Later on today, after a 12-month development process, we will be launching a fantastic new product our marketing team is very proud of: Toddy Organic - PepsiCo Brazil's very first organic product.
























The launch will take place at a press event organized by WalMart Brazil where nine sustainable innovations from nine different manufacturers will be revealed.

This initiative is part of our corporate strategy of developing products that contribute to a better tomorrow but still provide a great-tasting product experience. We are very proud of Toddy Organic in a number of ways. Following the global trend towards clean labels, Toddy Organic is made with only five ingredients: organic cocoa, organic sugar, malt extract, sugar and soy lecithin. The organic cocoa and organic sugar are both cultivated with absolutely no pesticides, only natural fertilizers. Labels are made with recycled material partially made from paper collected from our own offices. Certification of the entire process, from seed to shelf, is carried out by IBD-Instituto Biodinâmico.

The organic cocoa comes from farms in the beautiful region of Ilhéus, in the State of Bahia - by Barry Callebaut. This project is particularly special when you take into consideration that cocoa, like sugarcane and coffee, are an integral part of the history and culture of this country.

Toddy is one of our fastest growing brands and has been a part of the Brazilian breakfast for the past 76 years. We're hoping Toddy Organic will appeal to moms and a generation of young consumers who are concerned with the world they live in.... but can't live without their daily Toddy.

Pepsi Refresh Project - start submitting ideas tomorrow

For those who haven't seen it, the Pepsi Refresh Project in the U.S. market is an amazing example of socially-responsible marketing. Pepsi is giving away millions in grants each month to fund great ideas.

Tomorrow, Jan. 13 is the day people can start submitting their projects of how to make the world a better place. Log on and participate. As a PepsiCo employee, I feel very proud of this type of initiative that pretty much reconceptualizes the role brands can have in the world we live in.

Spread the word.

A beautiful story of the power of nature

In parts of Brazil, some electric posts are still made of wood instead of the more commonly seen concrete ones. In Rondonia - one of the Brazilian states part of the Amazon region - a Yellow Ipê (also known as a Tabebuia Tree and is a considered a symbol of Brazil) was cut down a few years ago to become an electric post.  

To everyone's surprise, the tree didn't give up, started to grow roots and blossomed.  The power company installed a concrete post next to it removing all the electrical cables from the tree.  

A wonderful story that proves the power of nature.  Social media is now turning the story into a movement in favor preserving trees.

Read more about the Yellow Ipê in Wikipedia.

Havaianas... celebrating winter

I've always been a huge fan of Havaianas - one of Brazil's coolest brand icons. Our luggage is always full of Havaianas everytime we travel abroad. It's the perfect gift a Brazilian family can give to friends abroad. My Family and I just spent the two last weeks practically only using Havaianas during our summer vacation on the coast of Paraty.

Today, someone on my marketing team send me the link of this Havaianas video celebrating not summer.... but winter in the northern hemisphere. Totally awesome. I love it when a brand turns logic on its head. Absolutely brilliant.

Those beautiful new gadgets we probably don't need

Don't we all just love these lists of the sexiest gadgets of the year?

Beautifully-designed gadgets we probably don't need but some way end up in our dream list. 

Check this one out from THECOOLIST*

Celebrating the new year in magical Catimbau Island

My Family and I started 2010 having lunch at a magical place:  Catimbau Island, a 45-min boat ride from Paraty, one of Brazil's colonial gems on the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Catimbau is so small it's almost not quite an island, it's more like a rock formation in the middle of the Paraty Bay with only a restaurant on top called Eh-Lahô.  

Everything about his place is amazing... the construction elaborately perched over the rocks, amazing grilled seafood and a wonderful feeling of being in the middle of nowhere having a great time with friends.   After lunch, we all jumped from the deck into the crystal-clear green waters.  You didn't even need a snorkel to see a variety of colorful fish.  

In case you plan to go to Paraty anytime soon, here are the coordinates for you to explore on Google Earth:

This is the photo I took approaching the island, which doesn't do justice to the place.  

You have to go there to feel the magic.