ENTREPRENEURS: RAMIOR AGULLA & CARLOS BACCETTI (int'l edition) Since Ramiro Agulla, 35, and Carlos Baccetti, 34, launched their advertising agency in 1995, Argentina's ad industry hasn't been the same. The taboo-breaking duo has been scooping up prizes and winning accounts from Renault to Italian dairy giant Parmalat for their agency, Agulla & Baccetti. ''They dared to think differently,'' says Francisco Nazar of rival agency Vincit. Their ads have hit a chord in a land long dominated by business oligarchies and crony politics. A campaign for Brazil's Banco Itau spoofed Argentine banks' poor service and helped spur competition there. Critics say the agency grabs attention at any price, but Agulla argues: ''We reflect what people feel and need to hear.'' Billings jumped from $8.6 million in 1995 to an estimated $50 million this year, after last year's decision to link with the Lowe Group. Now, as the economic slowdown trims ad spending, Agulla says the agency will get by with ''as little fat as possible.'' Return to main story

Updated Oct. 15, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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