Unreal Campaign and Mercado Libre Conclude IP Education Program

The first instalment of the Latin America Original Challenge (Desafío América Latina Original), a regional educational initiative created by INTA and the Latin American e-commerce platform Mercado Libre, has officially concluded.

Organized jointly by INTA’s Latin America and the Caribbean Office and Mercado Libre, and implemented by Junior Achievement (JA) Americas across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, the program surpassed its goals at every level. A total of 325 students graduated, compared with a target of 290, meaning the program exceeded its graduation target by approximately 12 percent. Furthermore, 39 schools became involved, compared with a target of 33 schools. The program reached cities and regions that rarely access this type of experience, from Ilha do Marajó in the Amazon to La Quiaca in northern Argentina.

How the Program Worked

The challenge unfolded in four stages:

1. An online learning phase built around three modules (Design Thinking, Business Model Canvas, and Pitch);
2. A national competition in each jurisdiction;
3. Mentoring sessions for the national winning teams; and
4. A virtual regional final.

Students had more than eight hours of structured content and were asked to design a 60-second campaign or initiative addressing counterfeiting in digital commerce, based on a brief framed around a question that resonates with young consumers: Why does it matter whether a product is original?

A key feature of the program was the active involvement of INTA’s Unreal Campaign mentors and judges throughout. On May 28 and 29, INTA and Mercado Libre delivered two masterclasses attended by 125 students, providing them with direct exposure to intellectual property (IP) professionals and real-world insights into how counterfeiting operates.

Four Countries, Four Winning Proposals

The challenge brought together 42 teams from 40 educational institutions during a month-long competition. The students presented innovative proposals to raise the profile of IP and the consumption of authentic products.

Under the motto “Let’s make original matter,” students from across the region—most of them from public schools—designed 60-second campaigns with a common purpose: to champion the value of authenticity and to shed light on the real impact that counterfeiting has on digital commerce. Projects were evaluated based on value proposition, innovation, awareness and impact, video presentation, and teamwork.

Each national final produced a winning team whose proposal reflected the specific context and creativity of their school and region.

Media Reach and Visibility

The communication campaign around the program generated more than 30 media mentions across the four jurisdictions, with an estimated combined reach of 3.3 million people. Leading Mexican news outlets El Heraldo de México and Colima Noticias reported on the winning team, with additional coverage from local media outlets in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.

On social media, 26 posts across the institutional channels of JA Americas, INTA, and Mercado Libre accumulated more than 460,000 views and 1,623 interactions. An additional 16 posts from volunteer mentors and judges extended the program’s visibility across LinkedIn professional networks. The program’s dedicated site received 1,300 visits from 1,200 unique users over the course of the competition.

A Model Worth Building On

IP is a subject that often feels distant to students in Latin America—abstract, legal, and removed from their daily lives. What the participating students showed over the course of this competition is that the distance closes quickly once the question is reframed. When asked to solve a problem—to imagine a world where choosing original products feels meaningful and worthwhile—they responded with energy, creativity, and a level of commitment that exceeded every expectation the program set for itself.

With Desafío América Latina Original, the Unreal Campaign took root at the regional level as a structured, measurable, and replicable educational experience reaching students who are already navigating digital marketplaces and who now have better tools to navigate them as informed consumers.

The first cycle has ended, but the work of making original matter—not as a slogan, but as a conviction held by a new generation across Latin America—continues.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

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