Brazil is experiencing a fenomenal economic growth. Akatu, an NGO for conscientious consumption, wanted to alert about the impact of what we buy. Our challenge was to do this when all Brazilians care about is buying and buying.

So we created the ultimate consumption extravagance: A pretend real estate venture built ON the beach sand itself. What if to live on the beach you had to make it disappear?To make people believe that the building was for real, we built real sales stands, with sales people, 3D models, plans, folders, we ran ads, created the venture’s website, we even had an airplane banner. We also had… hidden cameras.We taped consumers’ reaction. More than 60% wanted to buy it! Our challenge was to make the whole country know about it. And stop, think and debate the cause.Our concept was so strong that Rede Globo, Brazil’s largest TV station, embraced it. We tested experiment all over Brazil, taping consumers’ reactions. This became a two part story that opened Globo’s main news show two Sundays in a row. Prime time TV for free. More than 130 million people were reached. Over US$ 9 million worth of media.

We built real sales stands with sales people, a 3D model, plans, banners, folders, we ran ads, created the venture’s website, we even had an airplane banner. We also had… hidden cameras.

We taped consumers’ reaction to the flats. Over 60% wanted to buy it! The result was so powerful that Rede Globo, Brazil’s largest TV station, got interested. We made the idea 4 times bigger, with buildings like this all over the country. More sale stands, folders, banners, etc…It all evolved into a news story that opened TV Globo’s main news show two Sundays in a row. Prime time TV for free. The internet registered viewers opinions. And the discussion exploded on blogs, websites and social networks.

With a limited budget we reached over 130 million people all over Brazil. That’s more than the whole population of France, Spain or Japan. We had authorities commenting on the issue of conscientious consumption. Discussions went on blogs, sites and social networks. We made a country stop the frenzy of consumption and think about the impact of what we buy. And the campaign contributed to the development of a developing country.

The idea earned us over 9 million dollars worth of media. Not bad for a client that believes in the good use of money and conscientious consumption.