Note from BW of Brazil: This story gets more ridiculous the more the truth comes out! Earlier today this blog brought you the latest story blowing up all over the internet in Brazil about a racist fan, a banana and a so-called “anti-racist campaign”. One of the “actors” in the whole scheme, Dani Alves (the target of the thrown banana) has already made the cover of one of the nation’s top news magazines! Because of the soccer superstar (Neymar) being involved in the whole thing, the truth, result and outcome are actually not surprising. But with incidents like this (yet another example of how one can’t expect public figures to do the right thing when money’s involved), one can understand how the existence and consistency of racism continues in Brazil all the while people continuing to deny it. Totally ridiculous! Read the details below according to the Veja and Independent websites.
Soccer players Dani Alves, Neymar and advertising agency pre-planned the “campaign” that exploded online
The anti-racism banana campaign that has taken off all around the world was pre-planned by Barcelona teammates Dani Alves and Neymar and group of marketing firms, according to the Spanish daily newspaper AS.
AS have reported that after Alves’ Barcelona and Brazil team-mate Neymar had been racially abused in the Catalan derby at Espanyol in late March, a group of marketing firms were asked to develop a campaign which could draw attention to an issue which has blighted Spanish football for years, and it was decided that when the next incident occurred, one of them would eat the fruit on camera. The striking image could then be used to spearhead a social media campaign, with professional backing already in place to help ensure maximum impact.
‘Neymar would eat the banana. If it was Daniel Alves, wonderful also,’ says advertiser
According Guga Ketzer, a partner of Loducca, who envisioned the campaign #somostodosmacacos (we are all monkeys), the initial idea was that Neymar eat the banana on the field.
The anti-racism demonstration which took hold of social networks since Sunday night and reflected even at the Presidential Palace was, one could say, a marketing campaign designed by the team of soccer star Neymar. Posting on his Instagram account an image to support Barcelona teammate Daniel Alves, and using the tag #somostodosmacacos, the Barcelona star kicked off an idea devised two weeks prior by the advertising agency Loducca, the group ABC shortly after Neymar had been the target of racism during a game between Barcelona and Espanyol.
The idea was agreed upon and only waited for the “opportunity” to break into networks. The right moment came on Sunday during the game between Barcelona and Villarreal for the Spanish Championship, when the Bahian Alves was the target of a fan who threw a banana in his direction. Before a sidekick, Alves stopped and ate the fruit. Almost instantly he received the support of Neymar – who was not on the field – through social networks. Everything suggests that, being teammates, both would have planned it play out in a football match. By eating a banana in repudiation of a racist act, Dani Alves left the ball ready in the face of the goal to be kicked by Neymar, who already had a campaign ready. In an interview with the Veja website, advertising Guga Ketzer, a partner in the agency, denied that the move had been orchestrated. “Neymar would eat it, but as it was Dani, wonderful too,” he said.
Excerpts from the interview.
How was the idealization of the campaign?
Two weeks ago, Neymar and his father approached me to say they needed to position themselves in relation to racist manifestations. They wanted to solve it in a way that put Neymar’s message out in a strong way. And we decided to work the idea and that the best way to end prejudice was to take its strength and cause the person not repeat the act. It’s like a nickname. The angrier you get, the more it takes. It was then that we created #somostodosmacacos. The idea was to start with Neymar eating a banana and it becomes a movement.
Was it Neymar’s idea?
Yes, it was he that thought of it. Then when Dani (Alves) ate the banana, we released the campaign. We decided yesterday (Sunday).
Daniel Alves knew about the campaign, and so he ate it?
No. That was not planned. Neymar would eat it, but as it was Dani, also wonderful.
Did Daniel Alves end up trampling Neymar’s strategy?
In some way; the set of him eating a banana and Neymar manifesting, creating a movement, made the discussion reach an absurd level, with repercussions even in the Presidency of the Republic. People spontaneously got involved and that’s what matters.
What kind of action will the agency do to enjoy the scope of the movement?
Nothing. Our role was to create the movement and now you have the whole world creating content on top of that. They opened the discussion and put things in a way that made people discuss it.
Many people were frustrated when they found out it was a campaign.
Trying to discredit the movement because of the fact of having an agency behind it is just as prejudiced as the fan throwing the banana. Why can’t there be professional help? Why can’t we help with an idea? It’s not a campaign to sell anything. We did it conforming to the need for Neymar to show that racism is a completely absurd situation. And it worked.
Note from BW of Brazil: It’s always fascinating when people don’t get it, pretend not to get it or indeed stage the whole thing and then pretend to to be innocent. Even more fascinating is the idea that this guy can actually call this whole set up that makes a mockery of serious actions to address the issue of racism a “movement”. And then stating that questioning the campaign, or for me, the motives or the actual outcome, would actually be as prejudiced as the man who threw the banana?!?! What? Really? Racism truly is absurd, but this sham of a “movement” does nothing to solve the problem. In some ways, given the “jeito brasileiro (Brazilian way)” of obstructing the issue or denying it altogether, such an idiotic action could actually make the situation even harder to address. To be continued…
Source: Veja, Independent
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