DPZ turned a cheap rubber flip-flop into a fashion brand — and built its reputation on it

In 1994, Havaianas was a commodity: a cheap rubber flip-flop worn by Brazil's working class. The brand was associated with poverty, and sales were flat. São Paulo Alpargatas, the manufacturer, hired the agency DPZ to reposition the brand.

DPZ's campaign was radical: it stopped selling the flip-flop as a utility product and started selling it as a fashion item. The ads featured celebrities, fashion photography, and the slogan 'Havaianas: everyone wears them.' The flip-flop was placed in fashion magazines, on runways, and in luxury boutiques. The price was raised, and new colours and designs were introduced.

The campaign worked. Havaianas sales tripled within five years. The flip-flop became a global fashion brand, sold in over 100 countries. The DPZ campaign became the most famous in Brazilian advertising history, winning multiple Cannes Lions. The trade tells the story as the definitive case of a commodity brand transformed by advertising — and of an agency's reputation built on a single campaign.