Diesel

This book aims to unravel the visual meanings conveyed by the adverts for the jeans brand Diesel in its 'Be Stupid' campaign. It analyses the re-signification of stupidity elaborated by these advertisements as a form of imposition of North American culture in Brazil. The campaign proposes a specific identity for contemporary youth, with a strong sensual appeal and Hollywood symbols of how global youth 'should be'. The messages in the ads are analysed from the point of view of theories of consumer culture, fashion, youth and the body in the media. Comparing young Brazilians with young Americans, it was possible to see distinctions between them: despite being globalised, youth was constructed according to the canons and history of their own country of origin. Using semiotics, the research analyses the lifestyle representations that the brand suggests to global consumers still tied to the ideological domination of the United States in the 21st century.