When Nostalgia Turns into Strategy: How YouScan Measured the Impact of Canva and mField’s 38M-view Campaign

There’s something magical about taking nostalgia… and turning it into a brand. Not metaphorically. Literally.

Because let’s be honest—most campaigns try to borrow attention. This one? It built an entire universe that people actually wanted to play in.

When “just another campaign” isn’t enough

It all started with a problem that’s becoming… painfully familiar. You run a successful campaign (in this case, Gracyovos + Canva absolutely crushed it), and suddenly, the bar is way higher. Expectations shift. Audiences get pickier. And repeating the same formula? That’s the fastest way to become background noise.

So the question wasn’t “what worked before?”. It was more like… “how do we make something people can’t ignore?”

From influencers… to brand creators

The insight was simple—but kind of genius. Instead of asking influencers to promote a brand, why not let them become the brand?

Not in a vague “personal brand” way, in a full-on, fictional, over-the-top, storytelling-driven way.

Think:

• Moments from their lives
  

• Symbols their audience already loves
  

• Inside jokes, nostalgia, personality quirks

All turned into actual brand concepts. And yes… Canva was the playground where all of this came to life.

Enter Xuxa (and the collective gasp of an entire country)

Now here’s where things get interesting. Because someone said: “What if we don’t just go big… we go iconic?”

And suddenly, Xuxa enters the chat. If you grew up in Brazil, you don’t just know Xuxa—you experienced her. She’s not a celebrity. She’s a cultural memory.

Back in the day, Xuxa didn’t just have a TV show — she had an entire universe for kids.

“Xuxa for Little Ones” was a huge children’s franchise — it included music, videos, and a full range of products like toys, school supplies, and even shampoo and toothpaste.

So for an entire generation in Brazil, growing up with Xuxa meant not only watching her, but also using products connected to her brand. 

Now, years later, that audience has grown up — and the campaign plays with exactly that idea, reimagining Xuxa for them: what if she came back, this time with products designed for adults?

Turning her story into a fictional brand is not just creative. That’s emotional territory.

And that’s exactly why it worked.

The kind of campaign people don’t scroll past

It pulled people in. Because instead of saying “look at this product”, it said:

“Hey… remember this feeling? Now imagine it as a brand.”

Instead of toys, this time “Xuxa for Adults” introduced things like a glitter-infused tea for stress, strawberry-scented divorce papers for breakups, an air fryer and a shower for everyday adult life, and even a health plan — each one reflecting real adult needs and struggles.

And suddenly people watched AND interacted, commented, shared their own memories. You could almost see the algorithm smiling.

The results (aka: when the numbers speak for themselves)

• +2 million engagements
  

• 38+ million views

Not bad for something that technically didn’t even exist. But that’s kind of the point.

So, where does YouScan come in?

Here’s the part that usually gets overlooked.

Campaigns like this generate a lot of noise. Reactions, conversations, memes, unexpected interpretations… the whole internet doing its thing.

And inside all that chaos?

There’s gold.

With YouScan, mField was able to go beyond vanity metrics with social listening and actually understand:

• What elements people connected with emotionally
  

• Which characters, symbols, or moments sparked the most conversation
  

• How nostalgia influenced engagement (spoiler: a lot)
  

• What audiences were saying without being asked
  

Because sometimes the most valuable insights aren’t in the campaign brief…they’re hiding in the comments section at 2 a.m.

The bigger takeaway (and why this matters)

This campaign worked because it didn’t treat people like an audience. It treated them like participants. It gave them something to recognize, react to, and honestly… feel a little nostalgic about.

And maybe that’s the shift we’re seeing:

• 👉 From advertising → to storytelling

• 👉 From influencers → to creators of worlds

• 👉 From campaigns → to experiences people want to be part of

And if you’re wondering whether fictional brands are just a trend… Well. When something that doesn’t exist gets 38 million views, it might be more real than most campaigns that went viral out there.