The concept of development is a key factor that drives several aspects of life in society, including business processes. According to studies by Arturo Escobar, development became a powerful and engaging discourse. This logic divides the world since the last century, classifying and ranking countries based on parameters that were generated by those who have already reached the desired level of developed country, often ignoring the context of colonization that haunted several nations. Such is the case of Brazil, which today bears the title of the developing country. However, even though this is a social reality, the field of administration and marketing do not focus very much on understanding the impacts of these values and colonial remains. the present work aims to analyze, from a decolonial perspective, how business advertising contributes to the construction of an image of development / underdevelopment in Brazil. To this end, an analysis was made based on the Greimasian semiotics of 71 advertising images from 5 global campaigns of the Havaianas brand, in order to understand the texts and symbolic interactions transmitted by this brand. Through this investigation, it was verified the exploration of elements of a stereotyped Brazilianness, which always rescues the natural aspects and the notion of tropical paradise as a way of seducing the country, which remains represented by associations that reinforce little development.