Almap took a 15-cent flip-flop and made it fashion — the client almost fired them

Any commodity brand with universal awareness faces this choice: compete on price (the client's instinct) or on aspiration (the agency's bet). The cheapest product can also become the most fashionable.

By the early 1990s, Havaianas had been Brazil's cheapest flip-flop for thirty years. The white-and-blue rubber sandal sold for less than a dollar, worn by construction workers, maids and factory hands. Alpargatas, the manufacturer, had never considered the brand anything other than a volume commodity — the margins were thin, the market was saturated, and growth had flatlined.

In 1994, Alpargatas hired AlmapBBDO, Washington Olivetto's São Paulo agency, to revive the brand. Olivetto's insight was that every Brazilian already owned Havaianas — the question was not how to sell more of the same sandal, but how to make people want to own more than one pair. He proposed creating a line of coloured and printed Havaianas at a higher price point, marketed as a fashion accessory rather than a commodity.

The client resisted. Alpargatas's management believed that raising the price of a working-class product would alienate its core buyers without attracting fashion consumers. Olivetto's team produced a campaign featuring Brazilian supermodel Daniela Cicarelli and later Gisele Bündchen wearing Havaianas — imagery that had never been associated with the brand. The ads ran during São Paulo Fashion Week in 1999.

The gamble worked. Havaianas' revenue quadrupled between 1999 and 2005. The brand launched premium lines, collaborated with designers, and began exporting to over 80 countries. The $0.50 flip-flop became a $30 fashion item without losing its working-class customer base — the original sandal remained in production at its original price. Olivetto told the story in interviews for decades afterwards as his favourite example of a client who needed convincing that their own brand was worth more than they believed.

Instead of a price promotion, they repositioned Havaianas as fashion by putting supermodels in them, quadrupling revenue by 2005.

Alpargatas saw the brand through its cost structure (a cheap commodity) rather than through its cultural position (the sandal every Brazilian already wore and recognised)

The agency understood that a brand with 100% awareness needed a reason for people to buy a second pair — the reason was colour, fashion and self-expression, not a lower price

Olivetto used celebrity endorsement to shift the brand's association from 'necessity' to 'choice' without abandoning the original product or its customer base

The client's instinct to run a price promotion would have reinforced the commodity positioning — the agency's contrarian bet was that the brand was underpriced, not overpriced

A brand with universal recognition but no aspiration is underpriced, not overpriced. The agency that raises the price creates the growth the price cut never would.

Havaianas now sells over 250 million pairs a year in more than 100 countries. Washington Olivetto retired in 2010 as Latin America's most awarded creative director. AlmapBBDO was acquired by WPP in 2004 but retained its name and creative leadership. The Havaianas repositioning is taught in advertising schools across Latin America as the definitive case of brand elevation through creative strategy rather than price competition.