Brazilian President Lula launched the “Brazil is Calling You” campaign in Johannesburg, following South Africa officially handing over the keys to Brazil as the next host nation of the FIFA World Cup.

The new campaign, titled “Brazil is calling you! Celebrate life here”, consists of movies, images and social media elements which aim to encourage the world to visit Brazil for business and leisure and take advantage of the opportunities that Brazil brings as hosts of world´s greatest sports events.

The campaign will be broadcast from 12 July on television channels globally and on YouTube, and forms part of the Ministry of Tourism and Embratur’s strategy to increase international visitors to the country.

The main objectives of this strategy, called “Plano Aquarela 2020 – International Tourism Marketing”, is to secure a 300 percent increase in foreign currency inflows from international tourists and to double the number of these visitors to Brazil by 2020. Brazil aims to invest approximately US$30 million into this campaign by the end of 2010. This will include of a range of marketing initiatives.

During the launch of the campaign, which took place at Casa Brasil in Johannesburg, the movies “Apito Final” and “Sons do Brasil”, produced by the Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, were screened. For the Ministry of Tourism and Embratur, the exposure of Brazil to the international media provides a platform for the country to demonstrate its potential as the host of the FIFA 2014 World Cup and of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Key initiatives for the international promotion of Brazil included in the “Brazil is Calling You! Celebrate life here” are:
Movies – After the closing of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a 30 seconds movie will be aired for two months by FIFA authorized television broadcasters. The movie “Sons do Brasil” will also be screened on international television channels (sports and news) and on YouTube. This will consist of 10 weeks of media activity with coverage in more than 100 countries, reaching approximately 400 million people globally. Countries incorporated in this campaign span across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.