Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian culture, Gérson's Law (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

: ''Lei de Gérson'') is an adage which reflects the way Brazilians behave towards themselves, immortalizing concepts such as

jeitinho Jeitinho (, literally "little way") is a Portuguese word to describe a method of finding a way to accomplish something by circumventing or bending the rules or transgressing social conventions. The concept is a deeply ingrained part of Brazilian c ...

and

malandragem Malandragem () is a Portuguese term for a lifestyle of idleness, fast living and petty crime – traditionally celebrated in samba lyrics, especially those of Noel Rosa and Bezerra da Silva. The exponent of this lifestyle, the ''malandro'' (ma ...

. In short, Gérson's Law says one should take unfair advantage out of every possible situation, having no concern for

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

. This expression came into use once a

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for the cigarette brand

Vila Rica Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herita ...

, starring Brazilian footballer Gérson, was aired around 1970. While he is a very well known

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

in Brazil and worldwide, Gérson had always been a source for controversy. In the commercial, that particular cigarette brand was portrayed as advantageous for being better and cheaper in comparison to other brands, and at the end of the commercial, Gérson says "''I like to get an advantage in everything. Get an advantage too, get Vila Rica''". Later, the player resented having his image connected to the ad, since all kinds of unethical behaviors were linked to his name with reference to the law.

References

Adages Advertising campaigns Brazilian cultural conventions Corruption in Brazil {{Brazil-culture-stub