Que País é Esse? A Decolonial Study, Using Semiotics, on the Development Discourse in Havaianas Campaigns
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Abstract
Objective: In marketing, studies on the discourse of development and its coloniality, and how this phenomenon affects the discipline, are scarce. Consequently, there are few discussions on how marketing reinforces a narrative that distances countries from a unilateral understanding of development, especially regarding the role of advertisements in contributing to this scenario. From a decolonial perspective on the discourse of development, this study analyzes how advertisements used by a Brazilian company contribute to the construction of an image of development/underdevelopment of the country, focusing on the case of the Havaianas brand. Methods: to achieve this objective, Greimasian semiotics was used to analyze 54 advertising images from four international campaigns of the company in question, focusing on the third level of the content plane, which is the discursive level, and on the expression plane, using the following classes of analysis: chromatic, eidetic, and topological. Results: the analysis showed that Havaianas explores elements of stereotypical Brazilianness, which nurture the natural aspects and the notion of Brazil being a ‘tropical paradise,’ ‘corroborating’ its supposed underdevelopment. Conclusions: in addition, the analysis elucidates how advertisements reinforce coloniality within the marketing area.
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Brandão, C. de O., Hemais, M. W., & Pessôa, L. A. G. de P. (2025). Que País é Esse? A Decolonial Study, Using Semiotics, on the Development Discourse in Havaianas Campaigns. Brazilian Administration Review, 22(1), e240080. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-7692bar2025240080
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Research Articles
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References
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Drucker, P. (1958). Marketing and economic development. Journal of Marketing, 22(3), 252-259. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224295802200302
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Jimenez, A., Delgado, D., Merino, R., & Argumendo, A. (2022). A decolonial approach to innovation? Building paths towards Buen Vivir. The Journal of Development Studies, 58 (9), 1633-1650. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2022.2043281
Kravets, O. & Varman, R. (2022). Introduction to special issue: Hierarchies of knowledge in marketing theory. Marketing Theory, 22(2), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593122108
Marini, R. (2014). Underdevelopment and revolution (5th ed). Insular.
McAllister, M., Forde, S., & Beykont, Y. (2024). bell hooks’ “Eating the Other” as a critical advertising framework. In: A. Das, H. Chaudhuri, & O. Sandikci (Eds.), Postcolonial Marketing Communication: Images from the margins (pp.17-36). Springer.
Merigo, C. (2016). With dancing on Sugarloaf Mountain, Havaianas debuts its first global campaign. https://www.b9.com.br/64792/com-danca-no-pao-deacucar-havaianas-estreia-sua-primeira-campanha-global
Mignolo, W. (2019). Sustainable development or sustainable economies? Ideas towards living in harmony and plenitude. Socioscapes: International Journal of Societies, Politics and Cultures, 1(1), 48-65. https://doi.org/10.48250/1004
Mignolo, W. (2021). The politics of decolonial investigations. DukeUniversity Press.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. (2012). Coloniality of power in development studies and the impact of global imperial designs on Africa. Australasian Review of African Studies, 33(2), 48-73.
Pastrana, N., Tran, K. & Martam, I. (2022). Marketing to foster development in the Global South. In K., Kubacki, L. Parker, C. Domegan, & L. Brennan. The Routledge Companion to Marketing and Society. Routledge.
Patel, K. (2020). Race and a decolonial turn in development studies. Third World Quarterly, 41(9), 1463-1475. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2020.1784001
Queiroz, M., Hemais, M., & Pessôa, L. A. (2021). A postcolonial study, using semiotics, on covers of classic books published in Brazil and the United States. Cadernos EBAPE.BR, 19(4), 1031-1046. https://doi.org/10.1590/1679- 395120200200
Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2- 3), 168-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601164353
Rodrigues, L. (2021). Decolonial reflections in marketing: The colonialities of power, knowledge and being. Interdisciplinary Marketing Journal, 11(2), 92-114. https://doi.org/10.4025/rimar.v11i2.5864 1
Silva, K., & Sauerbronn, J. F. (2021). Marketing systems, markets and quality of life: An analysis based on Buen Vivir Andino. Interdisciplinary Journal of Marketing, 11(2), 132-151. https://doi.org/10.4025/rimar.v11i2.58708 Sreekumar, H. & Varman, R. (2024). Postcolonial marketing communication: An Indian perspective. In A. Das, H. Chaudhuri, & O. Sandikci, (Eds.), Postcolonial Marketing Communication: Images from the margins (pp. 53-61). Springer.
Srinivas, N. (2022). Against NGOs: A critical perspective on civil society, management, and development. Cambridge University Press.
Santos, T. (2018). Socialism or fascism: The new character of dependency and the Latin American dilemma. Insular.
Santos, T. (2020). Dependency theory - Balance and perspectives. Insular.
Teixeira, L. (2008). Reading visual texts: Methodological principles. In N. Bastos (Ed.), Portuguese Language: Lusophony - Memory and Cultural Diversity (pp. 299-306). PUC-SP Publishing House.
Tlostanova, M. (2019). The postcolonial condition, the decolonial option and the postsocialist intervention. In M. Albrecht (Ed.), Postcolonialism crossexamined: Multidirectional perspectives on imperial and colonial pasts and the newcolonial present (pp.165-178). Routledge.
Utino, A., Bissoli, E., Pinheiro, R. & Sanches, S. (2023). Havaianas - the internationalization of a Brazilian icon. Lisbon International Press.
Varman, R. (2018). Postcolonialism, subalternity and critical marketing. In M. Tadajewski, M. Higgins, J. Denegri-Knott, & R. Varman (Eds.), The Routledge companion to critical marketing (pp. 49-63). Routledge.
Varman, R., & Costa, J. (2013). Underdeveloped other in country-of-origin theory and practices. Consumption Markets and Culture, 16(3), 240-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2012.668366
Varman, R., & Saha, B. (2009). Disciplining the discipline: Understanding postcolonial epistemic ideology in marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 25(7-8), 811-824. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725709X471640
AlmapBBDO. (2017). The brand’s new global campaign packs sandals with the best that Brazil has to offer. https://www.almapbbdo.com.br/pt/trabalhos/havaianas-leva-um-pouco-do-brasil-para-o-mundo-em-embalagensespeciais+178
AlmapBBDO. (2019). Global campaign created by AlmapBBDO invites you to experience the unique sensations of the season. https://www.almapbbdo.com.br/pt/trabalhos/havaianas-espalha-diferentes-convites-para-que-o-mundoviva-o-espirito-do-verao-brasileiro+333
Aytaç, M. (2024). A decolonizing or recolonizing mindset? Semiotic analysis of a Qurban donation appeal to Africa in Turkey. In A. Das, H. Chaudhuri, & O. Sandikci, (Eds.), Postcolonial Marketing Communication: images from the margins (pp.117-136). Springer.
Bambirra, V. (2019). Latin American dependent capitalism. Insular.
Barros, D. (2004). Publicidade e figurativização. Alfa: Revista de Linguística, 48(2), 11-31. https://periodicos.fclar.unesp.br/alfa/article/view/4294
Belchior, A., Neto. (2019). Havaianas Global Campaign 2019. https://www.behance.net/gallery/84947485/Havaianas-Global-Campaign-2019
Bianchi, G. (2019). Havaianas Global Campaign 2019. https://www.behance.net/gallery/78671545/Havaianas-Global-Campaign-2019
Black Madre. (2017). Havaianas - made of Brazilian summer. https://www. behance.net/gallery/51913607/Havaianas-Made-Of-Brazilian-Summer
Bonsu, S. (2009). Colonial images in global times: Consumer interpretations of Africa and Africans in advertising. Consumption Markets and Culture, 12(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253860802560789
Cardoso, R., Ferreira, M., Baptista, T. & Hemais, M. (2021). Imagens coloniais na contemporaneidade: Um estudo decolonial acerca de propagandas turísticas relacionadas à África. Revista ADM.MADE, 25(2), 1-21. https://dx.doi.org/10.21714/2237-51392021v25n2p001021
Chandy, R., Johar, G., Moorman, G., Roberts, J. (2021). Better marketing for a better world. Journal of Marketing, 85(3), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429211003
Creative Club. (2019). Let’s summer. Havaianas in new global campaign. https://www.clubedecriacao.com.br/ultimas/lets-summer/
DaMatta, R. (1989). O que faz o Brasil, Brasil? Rocco. Dholakia, N. (2016). Marketing as mystification. Marketing Theory, 16(3), 401- 426. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593115619971
Drucker, P. (1958). Marketing and economic development. Journal of Marketing, 22(3), 252-259. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224295802200302
Escobar, A. (1992). Reflections on “development”: Grassroots approaches and alternative politics in the Third World. Futures, 24(5), 411-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-3287(92)90014-7
Escobar, A. (1999). The invention of development. Current History, 98(631), 382- 386. https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.1999.98.631.382
Escobar, A. (2004). Development, violence and the new imperial order. Development, 47, 15-21. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100014
Escobar, A. (2010). Latin America at a crossroads: Alternative modernizations, post-liberalism, or post-development? Cultural Studies, 24(1), 1-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380903424208
Escobar, A. (2012). Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press.
Furtado, C. (1974). The myth of economic development. Peace and Land.
Furtado, C. (2009). Development and underdevelopment (5th ed). Counterpoint.
Furtado, C. (2014). Roots of underdevelopment (3rd ed). Brazilian Civilization.
Ger, G. (2024). Neocoloniality of marketing communication in the global south. In: A. Das, H. Chaudhuri & O. Sandikci (Eds.). Postcolonial marketing communication: Images from the margins (pp.7-16). Springer.
Havaianas. (2017). Havaianas. Made of Brazilian Summer. https://www.facebook.com/HavaianasUS/photos/10155273334942840
Havaianomaniacos. (2019). Discover the new Havaianas collection 2019- 2020. https://www.havaianomaniacos.com.br/2019/05/nova-colecaohavaianas- 2019-2020.html
Hemais, M., Pessôa, L.A., & Barros, D. (2022). “The “Esperanto” of business... or how to be successful in life: A decolonial reading, using semiotics, of English language courses’ advertisements in Brazil. Marketing Theory, 22 (2), 251-274. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931221075
Jimenez, A., Delgado, D., Merino, R., & Argumendo, A. (2022). A decolonial approach to innovation? Building paths towards Buen Vivir. The Journal of Development Studies, 58 (9), 1633-1650. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2022.2043281
Kravets, O. & Varman, R. (2022). Introduction to special issue: Hierarchies of knowledge in marketing theory. Marketing Theory, 22(2), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593122108
Marini, R. (2014). Underdevelopment and revolution (5th ed). Insular.
McAllister, M., Forde, S., & Beykont, Y. (2024). bell hooks’ “Eating the Other” as a critical advertising framework. In: A. Das, H. Chaudhuri, & O. Sandikci (Eds.), Postcolonial Marketing Communication: Images from the margins (pp.17-36). Springer.
Merigo, C. (2016). With dancing on Sugarloaf Mountain, Havaianas debuts its first global campaign. https://www.b9.com.br/64792/com-danca-no-pao-deacucar-havaianas-estreia-sua-primeira-campanha-global
Mignolo, W. (2019). Sustainable development or sustainable economies? Ideas towards living in harmony and plenitude. Socioscapes: International Journal of Societies, Politics and Cultures, 1(1), 48-65. https://doi.org/10.48250/1004
Mignolo, W. (2021). The politics of decolonial investigations. DukeUniversity Press.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. (2012). Coloniality of power in development studies and the impact of global imperial designs on Africa. Australasian Review of African Studies, 33(2), 48-73.
Pastrana, N., Tran, K. & Martam, I. (2022). Marketing to foster development in the Global South. In K., Kubacki, L. Parker, C. Domegan, & L. Brennan. The Routledge Companion to Marketing and Society. Routledge.
Patel, K. (2020). Race and a decolonial turn in development studies. Third World Quarterly, 41(9), 1463-1475. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2020.1784001
Queiroz, M., Hemais, M., & Pessôa, L. A. (2021). A postcolonial study, using semiotics, on covers of classic books published in Brazil and the United States. Cadernos EBAPE.BR, 19(4), 1031-1046. https://doi.org/10.1590/1679- 395120200200
Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2- 3), 168-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601164353
Rodrigues, L. (2021). Decolonial reflections in marketing: The colonialities of power, knowledge and being. Interdisciplinary Marketing Journal, 11(2), 92-114. https://doi.org/10.4025/rimar.v11i2.5864 1
Silva, K., & Sauerbronn, J. F. (2021). Marketing systems, markets and quality of life: An analysis based on Buen Vivir Andino. Interdisciplinary Journal of Marketing, 11(2), 132-151. https://doi.org/10.4025/rimar.v11i2.58708 Sreekumar, H. & Varman, R. (2024). Postcolonial marketing communication: An Indian perspective. In A. Das, H. Chaudhuri, & O. Sandikci, (Eds.), Postcolonial Marketing Communication: Images from the margins (pp. 53-61). Springer.
Srinivas, N. (2022). Against NGOs: A critical perspective on civil society, management, and development. Cambridge University Press.
Santos, T. (2018). Socialism or fascism: The new character of dependency and the Latin American dilemma. Insular.
Santos, T. (2020). Dependency theory - Balance and perspectives. Insular.
Teixeira, L. (2008). Reading visual texts: Methodological principles. In N. Bastos (Ed.), Portuguese Language: Lusophony - Memory and Cultural Diversity (pp. 299-306). PUC-SP Publishing House.
Tlostanova, M. (2019). The postcolonial condition, the decolonial option and the postsocialist intervention. In M. Albrecht (Ed.), Postcolonialism crossexamined: Multidirectional perspectives on imperial and colonial pasts and the newcolonial present (pp.165-178). Routledge.
Utino, A., Bissoli, E., Pinheiro, R. & Sanches, S. (2023). Havaianas - the internationalization of a Brazilian icon. Lisbon International Press.
Varman, R. (2018). Postcolonialism, subalternity and critical marketing. In M. Tadajewski, M. Higgins, J. Denegri-Knott, & R. Varman (Eds.), The Routledge companion to critical marketing (pp. 49-63). Routledge.
Varman, R., & Costa, J. (2013). Underdeveloped other in country-of-origin theory and practices. Consumption Markets and Culture, 16(3), 240-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2012.668366
Varman, R., & Saha, B. (2009). Disciplining the discipline: Understanding postcolonial epistemic ideology in marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 25(7-8), 811-824. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725709X471640