Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, a globally lauded creative director who was behind groundbreaking advertising for brands including Apple, Bodyform and Ikea, died on March 16 at the age of 40.
Oliveira, a native of Brazil, died along with his partner, Matilde Ramos Pinto, and their two children, Joaquim and Cauê, after a crash in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco. The family were waiting at a bus stop when a car struck the shelter.
Both Oliveira and Pinto, an executive producer at production company RSA Films, were well-known in the advertising industry.
With his creative partner Caio Gianella, Oliveira won numerous industry awards, including three D&AD Black Pencils and Titanium and Glass Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. They were also recognized on ADWEEK’s Creative 100 list in 2020.
The team worked at Apple in San Francisco since 2019. They were previously creatives at agencies AMV BBDO, Mother and BBH.
Oliveira’s memorable work includes Apple’s “Album Cover” ad in 2023; Bodyform / Libresse’s multi award-winning “Viva la Vulva” in 2018; and Ikea’s “Beds” in 2014.
The families of Oliveira and Pinto said in a statement: “Diego and Matilde were warm and loving parents who had a deep love for their beautiful children and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with their two little boys. They were also what one would call real ‘life enhancers’—the kind of people everyone loved to be around: happy, funny, kind, and always eager to make the best of what life had to offer them. The outpouring of love and grief from all over the world, which has greatly moved us, is a testament to this.
“We loved Diego, Matilde, Joaquim, and Cauê deeply and are sure the love they showed to their family and friends will serve as their legacy.”