If you are in a Brazilian store and hear a mother or father saying to their child “na volta a gente compra”, what they said was: “we’ll buy it on the way back” and that, actually, they have no intention of buying the object. It might sound funny at first, but the phrase “na volta a gente compra” also explains how parents’ struggle to purchase toys helped shape behavior.
A study on financial dysmorphia, conducted by Will Bank, revealed that almost 80% of Brazilian adults said that they wanted to own things their parents could not afford in the past. This sentiment might resonate with those who recall the famous phrase used by parents to avoid buying their children toys: ´na volta a gente compra´ (which in English translates to ´we’ll buy it on our way back´). Almost everyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s will remember this promise, and how their parents didn’t keep it, inadvertently leading to trauma amongst an entire generation.
In response to this study, Beta Collective transformed the phrase “na volta a gente compra” – which they translated to the English expression “maybe next time” – into a store filled with iconic toys and other nostalgic memorabilia that defined the childhood of Brazilian kids in the 80s and 90s. At the store, adults whose parents struggled financially back then could finally revisit the past and acquire those items they had always dreamed of, and all for free.
“Brazilians truly embraced the insight and the activation, and Brazil’s most-read newspaper in Brazil, Folha de São Paulo, covered the store, with the article going viral online, garnering more than 105,000 likes organically.”, highlighted Bernardo Tavares, Beta Collective’s Founder and Executive Creative Director.
“This PR stunt is receiving extensive coverage on Brazilian TV and in various media outlets. By far the biggest challenge while creating this idea was contending with my daughter asking to buy her all the toys and, of course, I couldn’t say ‘na volta a gente compra’ (‘maybe next time’). Now she owns a Tamagotchi, a Fofolete doll, and four other toys from the store. However, unlike the customers, I had to purchase them all.”
The ‘Maybe Next Time’ – The Shop was inaugurated in one of the busiest subway stations in Brazil, in one of the most densely populated shopping hubs in Latin America – Rua 25 de Março, in São Paulo. In just three days, more than 1,000 people visited the store and finally fulfilled their childhood dreams.
The film for this activation features a Tamagotchi introducing the store to the public. It was directed by Marilia and Fabio Meirelles, sibling film directors who direct under the pseudonym IM (Irmãos Meirelles). They have been long-time collaborators of the creative Bernardo Tavares, working on campaigns for Burger King and Cerveza Patagonia (The 5 Billion Star Hotel).
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