• by Karl Greenberg , May 12, 2014

Brazil does not want people to fly into one of the 12 FIFA World Cup host cities, take a car to the soccer venue, watch some games, take the same cab back to the airport after a few goals have been scored by their favorite teams, and fly out. "Brazil? What Brazil?" is the last thing Brazil's tourism board wants to hear from people who come to witness the yearly centerpiece of the world's greatest game. 

And it's the last thing the country would want to hear from the millions across the globe who will tune in to watch the matches next month, which will feature some 32 national teams. Thus, with about a month to go before the soccer Godzilla lumbers out of the Atlantic and onto Ipanema under the gaze of Christ the Redeemer, the nation has launched an international ad campaign via the Ministry of Tourism, under the aegis of the country's tourism board, Embratur. 

The effort includes a pair of videos for TV and digital focusing tourist attractions, the passion for music and dance, the hospitality of the people, natural attractions, and cuisine. One video goes back and forth between Brazilian dance styles and the "dancing" of soccer players. The other is all about beautiful places to visit, and the Brazilian joie de vivre. 

Said Embratur president Vicente Neto, in a statement: "Knowing that Brazil will be the setting of the biggest sporting event, with an expected 600,000 international visitors in our country and more than 26,300 million viewers across the world. This new campaign aims to show a small preview of what Brazil has to offer."

According to the country’s tourism organization, the campaign will include television, Web, social and out-of-home elements in 113 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The agency’s goal is to reach some 1.3 billion people. 

Rio and Sao Paulo are the most-visited places in Brazil, which is the most-visited country in South America, per the country's information site. Visit Brasil spokesperson Joao Rodrigues points out to Marketing Daily that ESPN has already been doing a video series on Brazil for the past couple of months showcasing the different cities and different aspects of Brazilian culture. "Traditionally, same goes with international broadcasters," he says, adding that tourism accounts for about 3.7% of Brazil's GDP.