The Clio Awards have announced the winner of their Lifetime Achievement Award: Marcello Serpa, partner and general creative director, AlmapBBDO, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The press release also wants you to note that the award will be given on May 15, 2008 at the hip new Gansevoort Hotel South in Miami Beach. Yes, yes... the actually used the word hip. You see, if you use that word, then everything you talk about will fall under that umbrella. See? The Clio's are now hip. Seriously.

Yet, Serpa is certainly worth the acclaim. Nice choice. Serpa, 45, is widely recognized as a driving force in bringing international acclaim to Latin American advertising. He was the first Latin American to win a Grand Prix at Cannes in the Print and Outdoor category for a 1993 campaign on behalf of Antarctica soft drink. That same year, Serpa and Jose Luiz Madeira, a senior account manager and strategic planner, both left to become partners at AlmapBBDO. Serpa is the most awarded creative in the history of the Sao Paulo Creative Club Yearbook, and been elected as best creative director in Iberian America and Brazil eight times by El Ojo de Iberoamericana. Throughout his 15 years as partner and creative director at AlmapBBDO, the agency was the most awarded agency in the world by the Gunn Report for two years in a row, named agency of the year at Cannes and by Advertising Age, and won 45 Clio statues.

Holy shit. Congrats. You can watch Sherpa above talk about the idea of success. Solid dude.