In 2001, Brazil faced a serious national electricity shortage crisis, and Telefônica wanted to advertise its data-center as being the most safe place for companies to store their data. The purpose of the proposal was to attract the target’s attention to the problem, and present the SOLUTION: Telefonica’s TIC offered the best data storage solution even in the event of a blackout. Instead of simply publishing an ad which would serve our communication purposes, we tried an innovative way to insert the campaign in a relevant context by using an original format.We decided on the ad should be printed in the middle of a page, not black on white as usual, but white letters on a black background. This gave the impression of a sudden “blackout” while one leafed through the pages.We had several printing tests done to make sure we would get quality results in that particular publication, and on June 1, 2001 that ad was published on the main page of the special supplement, “A Guide to Saving Energy”, in the “O Estado de São Paulo” newspaper with a circulation of 333,000 copies. The media department was responsible for the idea in this case. The client’s original idea was to publish a simple, traditional ad in the newspaper. The media department was also responsible for the arrangements made with the newspaper management. This was the first ad to alter the editorial layout of a newspaper. White letters were printed against a black background, thus generating full synergy with the campaign theme.

By inverting the regular black-on-white sequence of colors, we alluded to the energy shortage, and its undesirable result - a blackout.

So, we showed the public the energy problem and its solution in a creative, unusual way.

The media department was responsible for the idea in this case. The client’s original idea was to publish a simple, traditional ad in the newspaper. The media department was also responsible for the arrangements made with the newspaper management.