The Farmer and the advertiser

Publicado em 27/08/2026

It's a mission to advertising professionals to tell the world what Brazilian farmers do so well.

Published on August 8, 2026

Agriconscient Blog
www.tejon.com.br

*José Luiz Tejon

Translated/Copy Desk by Teacher Francisco Barbosa Bardhal 

"Every farmer has a little bit of an advertiser" in them, because from the earliest days, they had to take their products to the feudal fairs and use their own voices to promote and demonstrate their potatoes, all kind of vegetables, and meats, drawing attention and preference for their goods.

And every advertiser, likewise, has a bit of a farmer within, because they must extract from the invisible, from the seeds of reason, all powerful impacts that move and reach human hearts.

Agribusiness, a term coined by the late Dr. Ray Goldberg of Harvard, teaches us that there's no longer an isolated activity, as was entirely the case in the days of our ancestors, when farmers produced their own seeds, crafted their own tools, harvested with their own hands, and went to the fairs to promote and sell.

Advertising Art Connects the Heart and Mind of the Final Consumer

A scientific and technological complex lies before the farm gates, just as an agro-industrial system of commerce and services lies beyond them. Thus, the competition for preference, sympathy, and passion for products and brands - stemming from agricultural production with value aggregation and competitive speed in adoption - establishes itself within a new shape of knowledge developed in the 20th century, we call Marketing.

And within this administrative concept, which connects the final consumer to their heart and mind at the center of business tables, the Art of Advertising takes an essential place. The strategy of Propaganda is millennial old, dating back to the monumental constructions of castles, religious buildings, and performance squares, not to mention the coliseums with their terrible shows, drums, bugles, costumes, and flags.

Minstrels, with the art of words and their stringed instruments, used music to attract and engage populations in emotions and perceptions. Thus, to speak of agribusiness without associating it with the Art of Advertising would leave us with only the "Agro" side, lacking effectiveness in the fast execution of today's business.

From Brazilwood, used to dye the noblest red in the garments of past nobles, to the displays of power at banquets where a king asserted his superiority through the presence on his table of various products planted and raised far from his kingdoms, these generated "power brands," associating cotton with Egypt, silks with India, flowers with the Netherlands, wines with Portugal, and so on.

Advertising: The Soul of Business

The art of advertising has always been present in agri-food activity.
From the Industrial Revolution onward, it transitioned into what Marx called the "fetishism of commodities."

And brands with value aggregation, through its packaging, presentations,messages and distribution power across various channels, apply the Art of Advertising, for example, to create the global spectacle of a soft drink like Coca-Cola.

Advertising exalts the habit of chewing gum, generates fast-food franchises internationally, and turns pets into noble consumers of healthy, fine pet foods.
Thus, along centuries, the Art of Advertising has already created meanings through which people become enthusiastic, adopt worldviews, and goods acquire their own identity, the context from where an unforgettable expression arose: "Advertising is the Soul of Business."

The Agrotropical Challenge: The Amazon

Today, we have a Brazilian agrotropical environmental challenge to reach the consciousness of citizens worldwide.
We have the spectacular opportunity to count on the world's greatest brand, the Amazon, where a branding agency named Future Brand from São Paulo, won three Gold Lions at the Cannes advertising festival for its design of the Amazon brand, which was donated to the Amazon Consortium.

We have Competent Sales Efforts

We have realities generated in Brazil over the last 50 years that are in the need of an advertising strategy. There are competent sales efforts, such as those from Apex, agricultural attachés, and associations.And here I highlight Abrapa and Cecafé, where I challenged the CEO of the latter, Mr. Marcos Antônio Matos, asking why don't  we use the image of our Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade, with her masterful leaps, to elevate the perception of Brazilian coffee as the Olympic Champion of the world in this segment.

Advertising exists to enchant people, consumer segments, markets, and like all human knowledge, it can be used for good or for harm.

Doing What Brazil Does Well Is a Duty of Agro-Industrial Leaders

Using the art of advertising, the knowledge of propaganda for a noble cause, such as giving perception and winning minds and hearts around the world with what Brazil does so well, is a duty and an obligation of the leaders of the national agro-industrial complex. The Amazonian tropical farmer in Brazil deserves to have the advertiser alongside them, employing the arts, the poetry of words, music, and the insights of strength and emotion that characterize advertising.

And within the advertising strategy, bring together the entire media mix, from the nobility of paper, magazines, newspapers, billboards, to the invisible digital environment, yet with the conviction that without this art, we cannot transform the current combined movement of Brazilian agro-production chains, roughly US 600 billions, into a genuine and mandatory target of USD1 trillion over the next 10 years.

Time to Reach Hearts and Minds

Advertising is the framework that creates Harmony. Without its orchestration, we don't get a Symphony but random noise I call Cacophony. We no longer have 40 years to quietly reach the position of the world's largest agro-exporter. It's time to win hearts and minds, "from gene to meme."

We have great advertisers in this country, we always have! So, let's bring together rural producers and advertisers. It's no longer about showing Brazil to the world; it is about showing how much the world has become more Brazilian. Share of Mind: the term that precedes Share of Market offers strategic security for all businesses.

Let's  share it to the world!

*José Luiz Tejon is PhD in Education from Universidad de La Empresa/ Uruguay. Master’s degree in Education, Art and Cultural History from Mackenzie Presbyterian University. Journalist and advertising professional, with specialization programs completed at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PACE University, and INSEAD. Columnist for several Brazilian radio networks, television programs, newspapers, magazines, and social media platforms, as well as the author and co-author of 37 books. Academic Coordinator of the Master of Science in Food & Agribusiness Management program offered by Audencia Business School in partnership with FECAP. Managing Partner of Biomarketing and TCA International.Vice President of the Fundação Brasileira de Marketing (FBM) and Associação dos Dirigentes de Vendas e Marketing do Brasil (ADVB). Head Agro Professional at ANEFAC and received the Personalidade Agro ABAG 2023 award. Previously,served as Director of the Grupo Estadão, Agroceres, and Jacto S/A.