Advertising Slogans Fuel Protests

I have been engrossed in reading about the protests that continue to overwhelm Brazil. It tells me that there is a limit to tolerance. But as a Marketing lecturer,  I certainly cannot help but notice that two advertising slogans have stood out for having made their way from TV and social networking sites onto the streets.

Image credit: http://www.futebolmarketing.com.br/2013/campanha-da-fiat-para-copa-das-confederacoes-ja-esta-na-rua/

Image credit: http://sarcasmosa.blogspot.com/2011/10/keep-walking-brazil.html

"Vem pra rua" (Come to the streets) and "O gigante acordou" (The giant has awoken) have been part of advertising campaigns by Fiat and Johnnie Walker respectively, but have been usurped by demonstrators all over the country.

 















Image credit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23108688

Some said this was evidence of Brazil's consumer culture and others insisted it was due to a lack of political awareness, and still others maintained it was simply a skilful appropriation of advertising to make an effective political point.

The Fiat campaign was launched on social networks – Fiat, being one of the main sponsors of the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup that was staged in Brazil from June 15, 2013. The TV commercial showed Brazilians taking to the streets wearing the colors of the national flag to support their team during the football tournament. And the campaign song called on viewers to "come to the streets, because the streets are the main Brazilian grandstand".

But this time, the same slogan was a clarion call for Brazilians to take to the streets to protest.

Likewise, "The giant has awoken" was taken from a 2011 Johnny Walker ad in which the rocks forming the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro rose upwards – literally as a giant. The advertiser had intended it to represent Brazil as a hulking economic powerhouse and the choice of the country to host both the World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. And again, Brazilian protesters cleverly spotted another kind of symbolism.

"One of the tasks of advertisers is to synthesize feelings that are somehow latent and turn them into slogans," says advertiser and market researcher Adilson Batista of the agency Today.

"The Johnnie Walker film is quite emotional and it sums up a national pride that was already present in people”.

He explains: "And the 'Vem pra rua' campaign – even though it was created for the Confederations Cup – caused a different reaction in people, probably because it explored the idea of mobilization".

Analysts say that the use of slogans show that most demonstrators have little connection to political parties and have drawn inspiration instead from the world of consumption, ever present in the Internet environment.

"We live in a society where people are looking for an identity, especially young people", says political scientist Marco Aurelio Nogueira, from the University of Sao Paulo. "They go to the streets not only for a cause, but also because they want to be seen by photographers, by their friends on Facebook”.

He continued: "Marketers have a role in it, because they have to find formulas that can be decoded by people, and create emotional connections.

One consequence could be that, perhaps, in the future advertisers eager to tap into powerful national feelings – might be a bit more cautious.

These days you never know how your advertising will be used in the public domain.