Simply put, Brazilians are passionate about three things - women, football, and carnival. These three factors appear in almost every Brazilian advertisement. And the fact that, even with such a narrow focus, Brazilians do not repeat themselves in their ads is a compelling testament to their creativity.
Looking back at history
The 1970s and 1980s saw the opening up of the Brazilian market and its transformation, which also led to changes in the advertising industry. The foreign companies that bought Brazilian businesses did not understand the language, humour or style of Brazilian advertisements. Moreover, they wanted campaigns that would work throughout Latin America, not just in Portuguese-speaking Brazil.
Thus, Brazilian advertising in the 1990s faced two major problems - the need for campaigns that worked throughout Latin America and the need to achieve international awards that would give it more attention and, as a result, more business. The main obstacle to achieving both goals was Portuguese, which is the official language of the Brazilians but is generally not spoken by people living in the other 12 countries of South America.
This language problem prevented others from understanding and admiring even the most brilliant advertising. Added to this was the problem of translating puns and jokes. All this led to a significant shift towards visual communication in Brazilian advertising.
Video: Kaiser Beer (1984)
Brazilian ads are creative, engaging, funny and extremely brazilian
Brazil enjoys an international reputation for producing some of the most creative ads in the world, and Brazilian ads have been winning top prizes at the Cannes Lions and other international competitions for many years. The mere mention of Brazil conjures up images of innovative and highly attractive commercials for advertising professionals.
Among the ads awarded at the Cannes Lions festival, we should definitely mention the slightly controversial Brahma beer ad. AB InBev, in collaboration with agency Africa Creative DDB, São Paulo, took home the 2022 Golden Lion in the Creative Effectiveness category for an ad that managed to circumvent the ban on beer promotion on jerseys. In fact, it challenged footballers to have their hairstyles inspired by beer foam. This idea not only won an award at the Cannes Lions but also a huge popularity with the public.
Video: Brahma Beer – Foamy Haircut (2022)
At this year’s Cannes Lions, the “Buscapé Back to the City of God” ad scored again in the prestigious Film category. It is a product of collaboration between Telefónica Vivo and Motorola (agency VMLY&R, São Paulo). The main character - Buscapé - uses a Motorola smartphone camera and Telefónica Vivo’s 5G to expose an animal trafficking gang in the City of God (the city from the 2002 film of the same name). The story shows how Buscapé uses his photographic talent to reveal the violent reality of community and environmental crime:
Video: Motorola and Telefónica Vivo - Buscapé: Back to City of God (2023)
But Brazilian advertising does not just score with professionals. All Brazilians love advertising. They watch it, admire it, talk about it and assess it.
Watching TV has long been central to the lives of Brazilians, and marketers trying to build brands in Brazil are taking advantage of this. The media mix in the country is still heavily skewed towards TV. Even global brands such as Nestlé, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola have succumbed to the dominant role of TV in the Brazilian media mix, devoting 80 to 90% of their advertising budgets to it.
The most popular programmes remain the evening news and soap operas broadcast in prime time. The interest in soap operas and the loyalty of Brazilian viewers cannot be underestimated.
The only problem with TV ads in Brazil is that they can swallow up a large part of the marketing budget. Brazilian TV prices are much higher than in other Latin American countries.
Product placement in soap operas
Watching soap operas is something like Brazil’s national sport. Soap operas are popular with young and old Brazilians alike and are one of the most popular pastimes - like football and samba. Some of the most successful soap operas are watched by up to 80 million viewers in prime time.
Loyal viewers include housewives, workers and office staff, men and women, and generally across social classes. Entire families schedule their days so as not to miss the nightly episodes. Viewers become involved in the plot, often imitating the actors and discussing the episodes with their friends, families and neighbours.
The related advertising therefore represents perfect media opportunities for advertisers. In addition, many products are used and talked about in the series, so product placement is a well-known and very successful marketing tool in Brazil.
The beauty of the brazilian body
When a Brazilian marketer was once asked by the audience at Cannes “Why do you have so many exposed bodies in Brazilian advertising?”, he answered simply “Because we like it”. That says it all.
The importance of sex in Brazilian public life cannot be underestimated. It is talked about in television programmes, magazines and everyday life. Sexuality is put on display on the beaches of Rio and in carnival parades. The extraordinary emphasis on almost naked bodies, sensual clothing and overt displays of sexual overtones is one of the first things foreigners notice in Brazil. Most of the bodies on display are female, although the emphasis on male beauty is also part of Brazilian culture.
When it comes to emphasising physical beauty, Brazilian advertising is at the top of the world rankings. It should be noted, however, that despite the amount of exposed skin, full nudity does not occur very often.
In any case, many of the adverts that aired in Brazil, for example, would certainly not air in the US. This undoubtedly includes the 1987 Valisere underwear ad. Similarly, the 1986 Garoto candy advert, in which the viewer sees nothing but boys’ undisguised admiration for women’s bodies throughout the ad, would not pass muster in many countries. It is not until the very end of the two-and-a-half-minute spot that the viewer sees the candy itself.
But it is not just a question of historical ads. The trend for female body beauty continues to this day. One example is the concept of Bonita por natureza (Natural Beauty), based on which Giovanni+Draftfcb created the HOPE campaign, starring Juliana Paes.
Video: Giovanni+Draftfcb – HOPE
Divine Pelé: a celebrity among celebrities
He was brilliant on the football field and was a big draw for advertisers. Pelé was the face of many brands and products from the 1970s until recently. As one of the most gifted and inventive players the world has ever seen on the pitch, he was the epitome of an advertising agency’s dream. He was the face of many brands, and his image was often used to portray a lifestyle. He has worked with the Pepsi brand since 1973. He appeared in a number of television ads for Pepsi and was very much the face of the Pepsi Generation.
Video: Pepsi – Pelé (1974)
As part of his work with Pepsi, Pelé participated in the brand’s international youth football programme, which was also reflected in TV commercials. A good example is a spot in which Pelé gives a football masterclass to a group of young children and challenges a shy but talented boy to a skills competition:
Video: Pepsi – Pelé
However, Pelé was also attracted by other brands. Besides soft drinks, he promoted American Express, Puma shoes, Mastercard, or Tasty Tuna sandwich with Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman for Subway. He even had a duel with Maradona and Zidane in a table football ad for the fashion house Louis Vuitton.
Video: Louis Vuitton – Maradona, Pelé, Zidane (2010)
In later years, he even agreed to become the face of Pfizer’s Viagra campaign, but as a proud Brazilian, he was quick to point out that he never got into a situation where he had to use the drug.
Carnival hustle and bustle on the streets and in advertising
Sinful samba, megalomaniacal floats, exotic costumes and exuberant, dancing crowds. Every year at the end of February, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, turns into one big dance floor. Up to half a million people flock to the Rio Carnival, and millions more watch it on television. It is no wonder that the carnival season and the carnival itself are among the favourite topics with Brazilian and global advertisers.
Typical carnival revelry can be seen, for example, in an advertisement saying that the best carnival is on the TV Jornal channel:
Video: TV Jornal – Carnaval 2023
Even global brands are betting on the carnival theme, as evidenced by Apple’s ad promoting the iPhone in Brazil (2018):
Video: Apple – iPhone X
The fact that the carnival motif can be seen in TV advertising in a different way than the cheerful and dancing one is evidenced by a spot promoting WhatsApp, which shows the story of two carnival performers from two different samba schools. They are rivals until a fire breaks out in the shed of one of the schools and their solidarity comes out in an emotional way.
Video: WhatsApp – Fica Só Entre Vocês – Carnaval
The ad entered in the Guinness world records
Brazilians love advertising, so it is no surprise that the country that holds the record for the longest TV ad is Brazil. The 14-hour advert was produced by Procter & Gamble (Wieden+Kennedy, São Paulo) and promotes Old Spice deodorant. The commercial aired on the Woohoo TV channel on 8 December 2018 from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Old Spice thus broke the fast-food chain Arby’s, which held the record with an ad lasting just over 13 hours and entered the Guinness World Records. “The idea for the whole project came from Old Spice’s new technology, Durascent, which will keep you smelling nice forever,” said Vitor Fernandes, deodorant marketing manager.
The Czechs - unlike the Brazilians - would probably not be able to sit through a 14-hour advert. So, let’s take a look at just a few minutes of this record-breaking ad:
Video: Old Spice – The longest ad ever
Some statistics in conclusion
- In 2021, TV advertising spending in Brazil rose to 116.2 billion Brazilian reals from 99.2 billion reals the previous year. Free TV attracted the most significant investment in TV advertising in the country, approximately BRL 80.2 billion.
- Sky Brasil was the largest TV advertiser in 2021, with an investment of almost 897 million Brazilian reals. In second place was TopTherm, a Brazilian company selling dietary supplements, which invested BRL 410.9 million in TV advertising.
- Traditional TV advertising is the largest advertising market (USD 4.8 billion in 2023).
- Ad spending in the TV and video advertising market is projected to reach USD 7.0 billion in 2023.
Where do we go next?
We will travel to a country full of contrasts, which is called an exotic paradise on earth. A land famous for Bollywood-style advertisements, which, though characterised by predictable plots, hackneyed themes, melodies, singing and jingles, are indelibly etched in the memory. A land of people whose approach to life is best summed up by the popular phrase “bahala na” (translated as “God’s will be done”), a land where it is not appropriate to say a strict “no” and where a smile is extremely important. So, pack a supply of polite manners and ear-to-ear smiles in your suitcase, and let’s head to the Philippines!
