Netflix is one of the most loved brands in Brazil. But when it announced “Sintonia” - the first series to show the truth of São Paulo’s favela youth - some people reacted badly with prejudice. Hateful comments were placed in every teaser video of the show.

Netflix could have hidden itself, instead the brand decided to go beyond a simple series launch and create a campaign that elevated a form of creative expression from the ghetto community and brought the brand closer to an entirely new audience.

The Sintonia Trim was an exclusive cut, crafted by Ariel, the most sought after brazilian barber, responsible for turning the bold hairstyles of Brazil’s favela youth famous worldwide. The idea made “Sintonia”, literally, a show that people couldn’t get out of their minds and heads.

To connect with this new audience, we needed to do this authentically. So not only was our series content authentic, but also the way the Sintonia Trim was developed. Besides partnering with Ariel (the barber), we also invited some of Brazil's most important artists to try out the cut.

To trademark the cut, we ran a social film, starring two of Brazil’s most notorious funk artists. The film revealed the phone number of a barbershop that opened up in downtown São Paulo, giving out free trims. Also, to spread the Sintonia Trim nationwide, we posted Ariel’s step by step tutorial on Netflix’s Instagram, inviting everyone to try it with their local barbers.

The hype was so intense, that four days were fully booked in less than 2 hours. With hundreds of cuts, we turned heads into walking billboards. Also, people from all over Brazil started replicating the cut, promoting the show around the country. It even became an official cut in barber shops nationwide.

By winning the heads of people in both suburbs and posh neighborhoods, this culturally relevant, extremely targeted and free media for the show brought two distant audiences closer proving that there’s more in the outskirts’ than crime and drugs and helping “Sintonia” to become the most successful Brazilian Netflix series in history.