Corda na Rua
Sixty-three performers in yellow and red turned rope-jumping into a piece of street theatre — unbranded first, to become rumour; then signed by Coca-Cola, across five Brazilian capitals.
Context
In 2008, a generation of Brazilian teenagers was migrating from the sidewalk to the screen. The brief was to revive the ritual of play on the street — and to make that revival strong enough to become conversation before it became a campaign.
A team of sixty-three performers was assembled across dance, circus, capoeira, parkour, coordination and memorisation — profiles that could hold up under a live street routine. They were trained by a Canadian Double Dutch champion team to jump in pairs, trios and pirouettes.
The activation ran in two phases across Fortaleza, Recife, Curitiba, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro. In phase one, the teams performed in public spaces with no brand attached — to plant the rumour of a new urban trend. In phase two, now signed by Coca-Cola, they performed choreographed routines and pulled in the crowd around them, extending into schools, events, churches, gyms and children's charities.
Challenge
Reactivate a street ritual at a moment when young Brazilians were pulling indoors. The trick was to build something visible enough to become talk before it became a campaign — and, once it did become a campaign, to still feel spontaneous.
Role
This one is a creative credit, not a strategy credit. Working alongside Fernando Blum at Elipse Comunicação e Marketing, I helped write the two-phase concept — the unbranded rumour first, the signed choreography second — and the casting rationale that made a Coca-Cola activation stand up as street culture.
Approach
Cast for endurance, not for looks
Sixty-three performers curated across dance, circus, capoeira, parkour and coordination — profiles that could hold a live street routine day after day, in five different cities.
Train against a real standard
Intensive training with a Canadian Double Dutch champion team, to move rope-jumping from playground into pair-and-trio choreography with genuine technical density.
Plant the rumour before the logo
Phase one ran unbranded across Fortaleza, Recife, Curitiba, Brasília and Rio — enough exposure to install the sense that a new urban wave was starting, without anyone naming the source.
Sign the movement, don't announce it
Phase two arrived with the Coca-Cola signature and choreographed routines, extending into schools, events, churches, gyms and children's charities — a signed movement, not an advertised campaign.
Execution
- 01Concept and strategy for the 'Corda na Rua' activation
- 02Casting and formation of the 63-performer team
- 03Two-phase activation plan across five capitals
- 04Thirty-second film script and activation support materials
Outcome
Rope-jumping became spontaneous conversation across the five cities of the activation — and by the time Coca-Cola signed the movement, the brand was already attached to an actual street scene rather than to a piece of advertising.
Credits
- ClientCoca-Cola Brasil
- AgencyElipse Comunicação e Marketing
- PartnerBenza Promoção e Eventos
- TrainingCanadian Double Dutch champion team
- CreativeBruno Rothstein and Fernando Blum
