Mascot thermos bottle that became a favorite in Uruguay is barred in Brazil

The opportunity for Brazilian fans to acquire Botija, a thermos bottle that has become a favorite in Uruguay since being chosen as the mascot of the neighboring team in the Qatar Cup, last July, hit the bar. After winning by a landslide, Botija was effectively manufactured and launched in the Uruguayan market by the Brazilian brand Termolar.

The company even announced on its social networks the sale of a limited edition in Brazil, which would take place on the eve of Uruguay’s debut, this Thursday (24), at 10am, against South Korea. However, he did not obtain authorization from the AUF (Uruguayan Football Association) to send a batch of bottles to Brazil. The idea was to sell 50 pieces.

Since September, when the bottle was launched in Uruguay, Termolar has received messages from Brazilians interested in purchasing the stainless steel version of the mascot that they helped to elect. With the sale cancelled, the few Bottles that crossed the border will be used in raffles and other marketing actions. The disclosure will be made on the brand’s Instagram.

“Time was also tight. Selling Botija here would involve bureaucratic hurdles that could take even longer, and Uruguay’s last game in the first phase of the Cup will be on the 2nd. With that deadline, carrying out actions will make more sense”, says Natalie Ardrizzo , president of Termolar.

Botija’s story began with an unpretentious election on the AUF’s social networks. In addition to the Uruguayans, Brazilians (gauchos in particular) found the idea of ​​the domestic utensil competing with four other candidates for more traditional mascots, based on animals from the local fauna, funny. The campaign went viral and Botija was elected with 58% of the votes.

After the resounding victory, the AUF made the strange decision to redo the election by including public-drawn mascots. The attitude caused a double revolt: from the artists, who complained that the contest did not provide for remuneration for copyright, and from the public, who uploaded the hashtag #JusticiaPorBotija on social networks. Botija beat its new competitors by 51% – interestingly, two of them carried thermals under their arms.

After following the election from a distance, Termolar saw an opportunity to surf on the popularity of the bottle and launched its most popular model for chimarrão in the neighboring country —the R-Evolution— customized with the face of Botija.

Natalie believes that, even if the election was influenced by the joke of the internet, the reason for the bottle to be in favor of the public is easily explained by the local culture.

“They were right on target because that’s exactly how Uruguayans treat mate. Like a mascot, an inseparable companion. It’s stronger than any pet”, says Natalie.

Termolar itself was founded in 1958 in Rio Grande do Sul by two Uruguayans (the father of the current president and a partner) willing to solve the problem of conserving and transporting the hot water of mate.

Unlike Brazil, where mate is shared, Uruguayans usually carry a private kit of gourd and thermos. Selection is a good example. It is common to see athletes from the Uruguayan delegation carrying the drink on trips and even in the middle of training.

And the most popular model is precisely the R-Evolution. The secret, says the company, is in the adequate volume for individual consumption (one liter), in the stainless steel that preserves the temperature for longer hours and in the handle, which is easy to carry and serve. Despite the ubiquity of mate in Uruguay, the most popular brands are foreign: Brazil’s Termolar and Argentina’s Lumilagro.

According to Natalie, Termolar would not be able to finance an official sponsorship for Uruguayan athletes, but it has organic support from players. However, instead of the official Botija, athletes often use customized prints. Suárez’s bottle, for example, is stamped with family photos.

“On the AUF Instagram there is a photo of five players leaving for Qatar, three carrying mate. The three have our bottles. We recognize the model from afar”, says the president.

In Uruguay, the official Botija is being sold on a special website for 2,400 Uruguayan pesos, the equivalent of around R$320. kill Canarias. There is also a stuffed bottle, sold for 1,900 pesos (R$ 177). None of them are delivered to addresses outside of Uruguay.

Termolar says that there wasn’t enough time to guarantee a quality print and a distribution that adequately served the Brazilian market.

“Unfortunately, very few were manufactured. For you to have an idea, I had to lend mine to influencers to carry out actions on their profiles. Another one, we gave to Alex Telles [lateral gaúcho da seleção brasileira]’ says Natalie.

The Uruguayan Botija inaugurated a curious trend of mascots based on typical objects. After her, La’eeb, the Qatar Cup mascot, was based on the Keffiyeh, the country’s signature scarf. The 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics will have a pair of Phrygian caps as mascots, hats that became iconic during the French Revolution.