The work of Paulo de Tarso da Cunha Santos, 72, as a marketer for () in the 1989 campaign has lasted almost four decades, even though those ended a long time ago, with the PT member defeated by de Mello.
Lula has been taken to Planalto three times since 2002 and is about to run for a fourth term. With each election, he resurrects an old strategy of Paulo de Tarso: a simple pun on his name to mobilize the supporter base.
In 1989, the marketer juxtaposed the noun Lula with the place where activists wanted to see the then candidate: there, a term whose imprecision measures the utopia desired by the PT at that time.
With the catchphrase “Lula there” defined, Paulo de Tarso sought out musician Hilton Acioli to compose the jingle “Sem Medo de Ser Feliz”, sung until the most recent elections.
The publicist reviews his career in politics in his book “Lula Lá E Outra Histórias”, which is now in bookstores by Geração Editorial, with behind-the-scenes, anecdotes and curiosities from those who have followed the steps of politics and its actors since childhood.
According to Paulo de Tarso, jingles are no longer made like they used to be. “The campaigns started to adopt a more popular, danceable tone, to go after the sound car. The bet is this: getting everyone to dance, but then there is a loss of concept”, he says.
The book reminds us that “Sem Medo de Ser Feliz” was not an immediate success by its author. Paulo de Tarso placed the order with Hilton at a lunch, which was also attended by advertising writer Tom Figueiredo. Two days after the meeting, the marketer received a call from the “jinglemaker” with the good news: Hilton had composed a samba-exaltation.
The song would, however, be rejected by the marketer, because it did not mention the candidate or the party. It took another two days for the phone to ring again, with the announcement of the definitive version, which faced no resistance from campaign members.
The success was such that, in the 2022 elections, artists were invited to perform the song. Also in 1989, Paulo de Tarso incorporated the gesture of the letter “L” with his hands into Lula’s marketing, a neurolinguistic suggestion from activist Mário Milani. In any case, the advertiser’s connection with politics comes before any election.
He is the son of Paulo de Tarso Santos, former Minister of Education during the government and federal deputy, arrested more than once, in the 1960s, by the military dictatorship, which caused him to lose his mandate and political rights. Therefore, he went into exile with his family in Chile, where he stayed from 1964 until 1974.
In the book, Paulo de Tarso, the marketer, remembers the times he followed his father’s work, such as on the day of the inauguration of . At the time, he met Che Guevara, who went to the capital to receive a decoration. The future elections expert wrote that he was not enchanted by what he saw as a sullen soldier who accompanied his father, the first mayor of Brasília, to lunch — the position existed from 1960 to 1969.
Paulo de Tarso says he wrote “Lula Lá E Outro Histórias” to give young advertisers his memory of so many years in politics.
He didn’t just work with the PT. In 1985, he worked with his campaign for Mayor of São Paulo. Both would meet again in the toucan’s second presidential term. As communications advisor, he included more prosaic language in the president’s statements, one of which referred to God — big news at the time. He also faced the blackout crisis and, some time later, the monthly allowance, as a member of the Lula government.
In 2010, Paulo de Tarso was mainly responsible for Marina Silva’s marketing. In the book, the then candidate is described as temperamental, averse to the team’s suggestions.
For next year, the advertiser does not rule out working on a campaign. He says it is more difficult to communicate in the times of social media and states that the scenario is more like a re-election of the PT member. “Lula has the Presidency in hand. With all this confusion on the right, the country is moving towards the center”, says Paulo de Tarso.
