Hazards of adgrunts life - kidnapping.

You thought inhaling large amounts of marker pen or spraymount, and getting a paper cut was the only hazards of adgrunts life as a student. You soon discover that alcholism and broken family lives are another due to the hours.

Well count yourself lucky - in Brazil, admen get kidnapped on a regular basis.

Washington Olivetto, one of the world's most awarded creatives, and owner of ad agency W/Brasil and its parent company Prax, was kidnapped as he left his Sao Paulo office at around 7.30 p.m. on Dec. 11 last year.

A group of bandits dressed as police seized Olivetto after forcing his driver to stop his car. The driver was released and raised the alarm.

Mr. Olivetto is the fourth adman to have been kidnapped in Brazil over the years. Luis Salles, owner of Salles D'Arcy, Geraldo Alonso, president of Publicis Norton, and Roberto Medina, president/owner of Artplan Publicidade, have all suffered the same fate; each was released after days of captivity.

More recently, Silvio Santos, owner of TV station SBT, was held hostage in his home for several hours. A few days earlier, his daughter was also the target of a kidnapping.

Go back to that spraymount can and inhale, kiddoes.