To talk to the Brazilian Audience in Cannes, we turned the screen of the Palais into a media vehicle. We submitted a spot for a beer that doesn’t exist – the El Ojo Beer. It was spoke in Portuguese with fake English subtitles. The audio talked about the El Ojo, while the subtitles deceived the organisation, making them believe it was a lame beer commercial. It was aired in the long list, and we communicated with the Brazilians attending the Festival. In the day the film was exhibited in the Palais, we released it on the Internet. Due to the subversive nature of the idea, it spread quickly. Word-of-mouth helped our commercial cross continents to arrive in Brazil, reaching even those who didn’t go to Cannes. All of this because we found a new way to use the big screen of the Palais in our advantage.

The film helped build the brand image in a big way. It increased the perception that the El Ojo is a bold and friendly festival, made by and for Ibero-Americans, which made them more likely to submit to and attend it. With this one spot, and from another festival, we started huge word-of mouth around the 2011 edition of the El Ojo. By the time the Festival started, it had 17% more submissions and 23% more delegates, as compared with the previous years.