Adoniran Barbosa is one of the fathers of samba. Born in 1910, he became part of the country’s cultural heritage and even 40 years after his death, he is still famous nationwide and has schools, streets, bars, squares, and other monuments named after him.

Adoniran’s most famous song is called “Trem das Onze” (11 O’Clock Train). A song that has Eisenbahn’s (the country’s biggest craft beer brand) main icon in its title: a train. So, when they asked us to come up with a campaign that could talk about passion (the brand’s theme for 2020), we knew exactly what to do.

Our goal was clear: generate awareness and make people connect with the brand in an emotional way creating a special bond that could live forever in consumers hearts.

To commemorate the anniversary of the late singer and song writer Adoniran Barbosa and connect a new generation of fans to his music, Eisenbahn decided to create a special tribute.

After extensive research, infinite phone calls, and some luck, we discovered 11 unpublished songs written by the composer, locked away for decades by his family. 11 music sheets never recorded or played to the public.

So, we did what any sane and samba loving person would do: we handpicked 11 amazing artists and a famous music producer, and with their help, we brought these songs to life.

11 compositions, performed by 11 different artists and released on the day that Adoniran would complete 11 decades of life.

In order to find and grab the attention of new and old samba fans, we created a strategy to be present in several different places.

First, we released the album on a special day when Adoniran would already be a part of the news cycle: August 6Th, the day Adoniran would complete 11 decades of life. The album was released on Eisenbahn’s profile, as well as on the artists’ profiles to gain more momentum.

To increase the chances of visibility, we created an integrated campaign with extra content on Spotify for more loyal fans, live-streamed Instagram performances, exclusive interviews with news media, special seeding for influencers and investment in digital media and PR.

To make this idea come to life, we followed a long timeline, filled with different activations.

First, we released the album on Spotify on the day Adoniran would complete 11 decades of life.The album was released on Eisenbahn’s profile, as well as on the artists’ profiles to gain more visibility.

On the same day, we also released “behind the song” tracks.On each track, artists explained in detail the process of how they brought their song to life, instrument by instrument.

Then, we made live performances with the artists singing their recent interpretations. During this period, several of the artists were interviewed by dozens of media outlets, including exclusive interviews with Rolling Stone.

Finally, we created a Vinyl Record version of the album to honor the main music media that was available when Adoniran was still alive. More than 300 vinyl records were distributed to influencers and musicians around the country.

The campaign helped raise awareness for Eisenbahn and touched people’s hearts with a special tribute. New and old fans had the chance to experience once again the geniality of the great Adoniran Barbosa and discover the amazing creations of one of samba’s founders that had never been released to the public.

The “ONZE” (Eleven) album was spontaneously picked up by the main media channels in the country, such as Rolling Stone, Folha de São Paulo, Estadão, and many others. It also gathered other impressive results such as U$ 55 million in reach and more than 1 million “plays” on Spotify.