Well-received agency DDB Brazil has announced the winner of its “99 Novas” student competition, which we first reported on back in September. After a seemingly grueling process of proving his fluency in English, demonstrating academic excellence and showing a mastery of general knowledge through a 30-question quiz that required a minimum passing grade of 93, 21-year-old hipster/student Lucas Cabral Maciel, an economics major from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), will undertake a nine-city, 99-day trip as part of the agency’s 21st anniversary celebration. Maciel’s sojourn will include stops in London, New York, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Mumbai, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Lucky SOB.
According to the agency, there were more than 4,000 entrants, which were narrowed down to 99 based on the highest scores achieved in the online test. Each of the 99 students were then asked to produce a 90-second video in English telling DDB why he or she should be selected and post it to the 99novas blog. From there, nine finalists were then chosen, asked to create and write a blog entry, and were then interviewed by Sergio Valente. These folks give American Idol a run for its money when it comes to whittling down.
Of course, besides the trip itself, the real payoff, depending on Maciel’s blog content and results, is a job opportunity at DDB’s controversial Sao Paulo branch. Um, good luck?