Bonita por natureza, moderna por vocação: publicidade e disputas midiáticas em torno de projetos urbanos em João Pessoa

Abstract

This study examines the advertising discourses promoting and legitimizing the Parque Ecológico Sanhauá (PES) and the Programa João Pessoa Sustentável (PJPS), as well as their relationship with media narratives constructed and shared on digital platforms by communities affected by these urban projects. It analyzes the politics of signification and discursive struggles surrounding these initiatives by Prefeitura Municipal de João Pessoa (PMJP), focusing on the interplay between official discourse, primarily represented through the city’s audiovisual advertising, and counter-narratives disseminated via Instagram by grassroots groups like Associação de Mulheres do Porto do Capim and S.O.S 8 Comunidades. At the heart of these conflicts lies the planned forced displacement of residents from specific neighborhoods in João Pessoa. The research methodology involved: Identifying key discursive elements (both formal and thematic) within the promotional campaigns for PES and PJPS; Mapping the media narratives crafted by affected civil society groups regarding their positions on these projects.The urban conflicts surrounding PES and PJPS manifest as an asymmetrical "media imagery war". While the PMJP invests millions annually in institutional advertising—contracting agencies, production companies, and multimedia outlets (TV, radio, billboards, digital platforms) to ensure broad corporate-style discursive reach— affected communities operate with limited financial resources and labor division, resulting in constrained visibility. In this context, advertising functions as an institutional "weapon of war," constructing consent around specific urban imaginaries, notions of belonging, and transformation agendas. The PMJP’s narratives combine meanings like green city, solar city, historic city, growth, care and quality of life, framing the projects as embodiments of these ideals, with project-specific signifiers like - strategically deployed in relation to community discourses -, sustainability, innovation, efficiency, transparency, participation, development and progress. Affected populations reinterpret some of these signifiers through social media to legitimize their right to remain, while also generating alternative meanings about the projects, their neighborhoods, and João Pessoa itself. Beyond outright opposition, their communication fundamentally expresses a desire to be heard, to dialogue, and to participate in decisions about their territories.