FIAT: Street Tales

Project type

Branded Content

Role

Researcher and Storyteller

Agency

Leo Burnett

Industry

Automobile

Brand

FIAT

Awards

Bronze Cannes Lions

Challenge

FIAT achieved widespread success in the Country with its institutional concept, "Come to the Streets," which encouraged people to leave home and embrace the opportunities of urban life. It was time to evolve the idea with a fresh approach to engage audiences across new platforms.

Cultural Insight and Execution

While working as a freelance researcher and strategist, I realized FIAT could elevate its "Come to the Streets" concept beyond advertising and into entertainment. Instead of using streets as a backdrop, I envisioned them as storytellers, narrating urban life’s hidden stories.

Inspired by this idea, I collaborated with a copywriter and an art director to document over 700 pieces of graffiti, murals, and scribbles across São Paulo. Using these street expressions, we crafted the story "Fireman," about a firefighter meeting a manicurist on a bus. I edited a pilot and pitched the concept to Marcelo Reis, Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett.

Reis loved the idea and invited additional directors to create their own stories. I was the only female director involved, and the project became a four-episode series: "Fireman," "Prisoner," "Balthazar," and "The Sisters."

Outcome

The short films were played in the cinema before the feature movie began. The project touched and moved the audience with stories brought by FIAT told by the street. It also won a Bronze award at the Cannes Festival 2014 in the Branded Content & Entertainment category, the first in FIAT’s worldwide history. I was also invited by UERJ, the State University of Rio de Janeiro, to present the series to 300 Literature students to discuss linguistic studies in urban murals and graffiti art, highlighting the variations in style, word choices, and forms of activism seen in urban settings.