Learn (and see) how the Income Tax lion was ‘born’

The culprit for the Income Tax is not the government, but a lion, a ruthless and fair animal that attacks only those who challenge it. The idea may sound far-fetched today, but it is the concept behind one of the most successful campaigns in Brazilian advertising, which established the lion as a symbol of the Federal Revenue Service and made it even become a dictionary entry.

It was 1979 and the government of General João Figueiredo, during the military dictatorship, needed to send a message: the tax authorities were prepared to persecute income tax evaders. The campaign also had the mission of explaining how to fill in a long form that arrived by post.

What had everything to be boring became art in the hands of Neil Ferreira and José Zaragoza, from the DPZ agency, who came up with the concept of the lion. Both, who died in 2017, were behind other award-winning campaigns, such as Baixinho da Kaiser and the commercial “Vandalismo” (known as “A morte do orelhão”).

“The briefing, in a nutshell, was ‘More day, less day, the Income Tax will find you because it was already equipped for that’ (I really was, really was)”, said Ferreira in the book “Zaragoza e Amigos – Ideias premiadas” ( 2014). “We then created a ‘culprit’, so that he could be attributed the bite they gave you. From the word ‘bite’, the search for the ‘biter’ came out and we arrived at the Lion.”

The duo teamed up with director Andés Bukowinski, who knew a lion breeder. They recorded a video that pleased the bureaucrats, but was approved with reservations.

According to Eliana Ferreira, Neil’s widow, the pilot was recorded with a lioness (so without a mane). The failure was noticed by Delfim Netto, a strong man on the economic team during most of the military regime.

Corrected the error, the lion started to frequent the house of Brazilians in TV, radio, magazine and newspaper commercials. “The lion is gentle, but he is not silly,” read one of the slogans of the campaign that began in 1980 and lasted ten years.

In the words of Neil Ferreira, the lion “is still, more than 30 years later, living on free publicity in newspaper headlines”.

The creators explored the idea that the Income Tax can be tamed, like a kitten, but that the IRS would be a beast if need be. “Don’t let the lion get on your feet.”

The campaign was awarded at Fiap (Iberoamerican Advertising Festival), but what made Neil Ferreira most proud was another recognition. The symbol caught on so much that, in the Houaiss and Aurélio dictionaries, the entry “lion” now has “income tax collecting agency” among its meanings.

Maria Matuck, professor at ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing), says that the lion marked an epoch because it had heavy investment for a decade and for bringing a powerful analogy. “The campaign took an element from another scenario, a beautiful animal, to talk about something boring, which is paying tax.”

For Matuck, the campaign would have problems if launched today. Recordings involving lions in captivity, frightened by a whip, would no longer be so well received given the advance in the debate on animal rights.

Clotilde Perez, professor of advertising and semiotics at USP (University of São Paulo), says that the campaign implied part of the spirit of the military government.

“The intention of the campaign was to warn that the lion would get you, an intimidation. At the time it was possible, today it would be very heavy. It was not a state that proposed to protect you, it was a threatening state”, says Perez.

How is the Income Tax in 2022

More than 40 years after the campaign, the “bite” of the lion remains firm, especially for those who miss the deadline to deliver the income tax return or fall into the fine mesh and cannot correct or justify the mistake. However, a lot has changed so far.

This year, in addition to the declaration delivered by computer, through the IRPF program, the tax authorities started to offer the pre-filled declaration, which already comes with previous data sent to the Federal Revenue by companies and service providers.

The novelty is available to those who have a silver or gold gov.br account. In addition, there is the possibility of filling out the IR on several platforms: starting on the computer and ending on the cell phone or tablet, for example, or even filling it out online, through the e-CAC (Virtual Service Center of the Federal Revenue Service). ).

The payment of the refund was also something that has changed a lot over the years. It is generally deposited in the bank account informed by the taxpayer when submitting the declaration. In 2022, when the centenary of the Income Tax is celebrated, there was a new change: the payment of the refund can be made through Pix.