PJ Pereira

PJ Pereira is chief creative officer and co-founder of Pereira & O’Dell and a Cannes Lions pioneer. When the festival launched the Cyber category in 1998, Pereira received Gold Lions in its first two years and a Grand Prix in its third year, before returning the next year to serve as Cyber jury president and one of the youngest presidents in the history of the festival. A decade later, with the advent of Branded Content and Entertainment Lions, he once again won a Gold in the opening year (2012), a Grand Prix the following year and now Pereira returns to a presidential role in the Entertainment Lions, one of the newest and most exciting competitions at the International Festival of Creativity.

Pereira's milestones in his field include a feature film for Red Bull titled 'Unflinching Triumph', which in 2007 was named by Sports Illustrated as the 'Most Amusing Sports Parody of the Year'. His agency is credited with the creation of the first ever social film ('The Inside Experience', for Intel and Toshiba in 2011); and surpassed by the triple Cannes Grand Prix winner 'The Beauty Inside', also for Intel and Toshiba. It was also first piece of advertising to win an Emmy against regular TV programming.

In 2016, Pereira & O'Dell was behind the rare participation of a brand in the prestigious 'Official Selection' of Sundance Film Festival with NETSCOUT and Werner Herzog's 'Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World'. The film was named in Esquire Magazine’s 'Top 10 Best Non-Fiction Films' in 2016. His credentials in content, digital and advertising have made him one of the world's most influential and respected creatives. He was named the top chief creative officer in Adweek’s 'Creative 100' and 'Creativity 50' and is a board member of the Ad Council in the USA. Beyond advertising, Brazilian-born PJ Pereira is also a best-selling novelist. In 2015, his book trilogy 'Gods of Both Worlds' spent a month as the #1 novel by a Brazilian author in his native country. In April 2017, he launched his fourth novel, and the series will reach five more countries in Europe and Latin America.

Pereira believes agencies have to provide a return on the money brands are investing but also the time consumers are spending with the work. That balance is the ultimate challenge we face today, and is exactly what this category is all about.