Dolly is a Brazilian

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

company based in Diadema,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

which has operated in the Southeast Region of Brazil since its founding in 1987. Its main product is Dolly Guaraná. Its mascot, ''Dollynho'', has appeared in the company's advertisements since 2004. Due to its exposure on national television, ''Dollynho'' became a popular

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

in Brazil.

History

In 1987, Dolly became the first company in Brazil to sell

diet soda Diet or light beverages (also marketed as sugar-free, zero-calorie, low-calorie, zero-sugar or zero) are generally sugar-free, artificially sweetened beverages with few or no calories. They are marketed for diabetics and other people who want t ...

. The Dolly brand first became popular throughout Brazil in the 1990s. In 2003, the company's owner, Laerte Codonho, filed suit against

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

alleging that the company was engaging in anti-competitive practices. This case became known as the Coca Cola v. Dolly case, which was widely publicized by

RedeTV! RedeTV! () is a Brazilian television network owned by Amilcare Dallevo and Marcelo de Carvalho. It is the newest television network, among the five major networks in Brazil, being a relaunch of Rede Manchete in 1999. RedeTV! has modern produc ...

. Since 2003, Dolly has aired advertisements on most major Brazilian television stations, with the exception of

TV Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Gr ...

. Dolly established a working relationship with RedeTV! and was a sponsor of several of its programs, airing commercials on the former

Pânico na TV Pânico na TV (English: ''Panic on TV'') was a Brazilian comedy program shown on RedeTV! on Sundays. It's the television version of the original radio program called Pânico. After its debut on TV (September 28, 2003), the program has become fam ...

program and on afternoon comedy shows presented by João Kléber. In 2004, the character ''Dollynho'' was created. In 2015, data from the

Nielsen Corporation The Nielsen Corporation, self-referentially known as The Nielsen Company, and formerly known as ACNielsen or AC Nielsen, is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City, United States. Regional headquarters for ...

found that Dolly had a 10% share in Brazil's soft drink market, though its products were distributed primarily in the Southeast Region. In

Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...

, Dolly products accounted for 30% of the soft drink sales. In 2017, an investigation known as Operação Clone (''Operation Clone'') conducted by the

Federal Police of Brazil The Federal Police of Brazil (Portuguese: ''Polícia Federal'') is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and one of the three national police forces. The other two are the Federal Highway Police, and the National Force. From 1944 to 1967 it ...

and the São Paulo State Finance Department found that the company owed upwards of two billion reals 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. Laerte Codonho was arrested by the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

at his home in Granja Viana on 10 May 2018, charged with tax fraud.

''Dollynho''

The company's mascot is ''Dollynho'', a green humanoid bottle of Dolly soda, voiced by child actor Felipe Machado. The first ''Dollynho'' advertisements were inspired by the

Teletubbies ''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...

and were filmed at the company owner's home as the company lacked the funds needed to hire a production team. The character's slogan is "Dollynho – o seu amiguinho" (Dollynho – your little friend). The mascot has visited schools in Brazil and performed recreational activities with students. ''Dollynho'' is a popular

in Brazil, with edits of the character being common on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. The arrest of the company's owner led to many internet users creating memes featuring ''Dollynho'', with some depicting the mascot behind bars or including fake protest signs that read "Free Dollynho!" and others depicting the mascot as a thief. RedeTV! received criticisms for its use of the character in its news graphics after a notable gaffe in which a smiling ''Dollynho'' appeared on screen and cheerfully said "goodbye!" while reporting on the death of

Olavo de Carvalho Olavo Luiz Pimentel de Carvalho (29 April 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Brazilian polemicist, self-proclaimed philosopher, political pundit, former astrologer, journalist, and far-right conspiracy theorist. From 2005 until his death, he live ...

References

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External links

Dolly website
Soft drinks manufacturers Drink brands