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

Every commodity brand that tries to move upmarket faces the Havaianas question: can you make the ordinary extraordinary without losing the customers who made you ordinary?

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.

Stopped selling it as utility and sold its universality as fashion: celebrities, runways, higher prices, new colours — sales tripled within five years.

DPZ's insight was that the flip-flop's 'flaw' — its association with poverty — was actually its strength. Everyone wore Havaianas. The campaign made the universality the selling point

The repositioning was not just advertising — it was a product strategy. DPZ worked with Alpargatas to introduce new colours, designs, and price points. Ads created demand; the product fulfilled it

The campaign's success was a bet on Brazilian cultural confidence: in the 1990s, Brazil was emerging from hyperinflation. Havaianas became a symbol of Brazilian identity — democratic and colourful

A commodity brand's strongest asset is its universality. Havaianas was worn by everyone, and DPZ made the universality the selling point. Can the brand make the ordinary extraordinary?

Havaianas is now a global brand, selling over 200 million pairs per year in over 100 countries. The brand is owned by Alpargatas, which was acquired by the J&F Group in 2018. DPZ became one of Brazil's most awarded agencies. The Havaianas campaign is taught in business schools as the definitive case of commodity-to-brand transformation.