Inclusion Matters

Hello hello…

Hope you’re keeping well.

Ipanema Agency started in 2020, at a time when everything slowed down and we all had time during Covid to learn, to rethink and rebuild. While pregnant I learned how to make a wordpress website and began to learn about casting and advertising. My husband Brendan, a commercial photographer, supported the first steps and connections.

At the end of the same year, my son Enzo (my gift) was born with Down syndrome – bringing a new perspective, new challenges and a completely new understanding of inclusion, both as a mother and as a casting agent.

Enzo was invited this year to be part of the Down syndrome centre (DSC) calendar for April month and together with Julianne, they make a wonderful picture.

Ipanema Agency believes inclusion matters and we are delighted with the opportunity to sponsor this year DSC calendar.

Inclusion is not just being invited to the party — it’s being asked to dance.

March 21st we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day and do you know why this date and why people wear mismatched colourful socks?

  • Chromosomes look like tiny socks under a microscope.

  • People with Down syndrome have 3 copies of chromosome 21. This condition is called Trisomy 21.

  • 👉 3 copies of chromosome 21 = 3/21 = March 21

The mismatched socks are a simple, visual reminder that we are all different and all connected.

This is what real inclusion looks like. Not symbolic, but lived.

In advertising and casting, inclusion has the power to go beyond representation. It can create work that people feel, remember, and connect with.

At Ipanema Agency, we work with talented models and actors with Down syndrome, helping brands create campaigns that are genuinely inclusive and impossible to ignore.

If you’re planning your next campaign, we would love to collaborate and help you create something meaningful.

Let’s raise the bar together.

Please see below some of our talents Luis Allen in Obituary – RTE and Lara Gilson, Piper Ross, Milo O’Brien and Enzo Duffy for Dunnes Stores.

Thanks all for keeping us in your mind.

Best wishes

Fernanda Duffy

hello@ipanemaagency.com

Whatsapp: 0831609045