 | |
| Origin | Brazil |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1987 |
| Website | www |
Dolly is a Braziliansoft drink company based inDiadema,São Paulo which has operated in theSoutheast Region ofBrazil since its founding in 1987. Its main product is DollyGuaraná.
Its mascot,Dollynho, has appeared in the company's advertisements since 2006. Due to its exposure on national television,Dollynho became a popularinternet meme in Brazil.[1]
In 1987, Dolly became the first company in Brazil to selldiet soda.[1] In 2003, the company's owner, Laerte Codonho, filed suit againstCoca-Cola alleging that the company was engaging in anti-competitive practices. This case became known as theCoca-Cola v. Dolly [pt] case,[2] which was widely publicized byRedeTV!.[3] Since 2003, Dolly's commercials have aired on most major Brazilian television stations, exceptTV Globo. Dolly established a working relationship with RedeTV! and was a sponsor of several of its programs, airing commercials on the formerPânico na TV program and on afternoon comedy shows presented byJoão Kléber. addedGrape flavor,Citrus flavor andPassionfruit flavor. In 2006, the characterDollynho was created.[citation needed]
In 2015, data from theNielsen Corporation found that Dolly had a 10% share in Brazil's soft drink market, though its products were distributed primarily in the Southeast Region. InGreater São Paulo, Dolly products accounted for 30% of the soft drink sales.[1]
In 2017, an investigation known as Operação Clone (Operation Clone) conducted by theFederal Police of Brazil and the São Paulo State Finance Department found that the company owed upwards of two billionreals in taxes, which the company alleged were stolen from it by a fraudulent accounting firm hired to pay its taxes. During the police operation, some of the company's factories were closed for several days.[4][5] Laerte Codonho was arrested by themilitary police at his home inGranja Viana on 10 May 2018, charged with tax fraud.[6]
The company's mascot isDollynho (lit. "Little Dolly"), a green humanoid bottle of Dolly soda, voiced by child actor Felipe Machado.[7] The firstDollynho advertisements were inspired by theTeletubbies and were filmed at the company owner's home as the company lacked the funds needed to hire a production team.[8] Behind the creation of the character, Laerte Codonho said:
I thought I needed a character for Dolly. Everyone was paying to have a Disney character. I said: 'I'm not going to pay anyone. I'm going to make my own character. And, at the time, I watched Teletubbies often with my daughter, that I started to enjoy the repetition. There comes a time when you miss it when you don't see Tinky Winky.[8]
The soft drink commercials involving the character became very well-known due to their high repetition during commercial breaks on TV channels such as SBT and RedeTV! (especially the latter, which had a strong sponsorship link with Dolly) with musical commercials, including some themed around holidays such asChristmas andEaster, being repeated for several years.[9][10][11] The character's slogan is "Dollynho – o seu amiguinho" (Dollynho – your little friend).[12] The mascot has visited schools in Brazil and performed recreational activities with students.[1]
Dollynho is a popularinternet meme in Brazil, with edits of the character being common onFacebook and other sites, usually making fun of the character because of his weird and overly childish appearance or the low production budgets of the commercials, at the point where the character has already even been comically demonized.[13] The arrest of the company's owner led to many internet users creating memes featuringDollynho, with some depicting the mascot behind bars or including fake protest signs that read "Free Dollynho!" and others depicting the mascot as a thief.[14][15][16] RedeTV! received criticisms for its use of the character in its news graphics after a notable gaffe in which a smilingDollynho appeared on screen and cheerfully said "goodbye!" while reporting on the death ofOlavo de Carvalho.[17][18][19][20]
The character's popularity in memes has also caused other characters similar to him, food mascots, to go viral on the internet. The most notorious case was the character Barriguinha Mole (whose name means Soft Little Belly in Portuguese) from the local company Laticínios Acrelândia in the state ofAcre, who appeared only once in a low-budget commercial in the 2000s, being an anthropomorphic milk bag that was often compared to Dollynho portraying them as rivals or evenas a couple.[21]