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One of the most unusual and underappreciated (at least in academic circles) characters in Brazilian popular culture is the grinning, anthropomorphic white drop of Sabin vaccine known as Zé Gotinha. Since 1986, Zé Gotinha – something to the effect of Droplet Joe – has been the mascot for the National Vaccination Campaign against Poliomyelitis, a great example of mass campaigning in Brazil. This visual study describes the character’s syntactic and semantic aspects as well as the relationships it establishes with other elements adopted in the Campaign’s promotion. The methodology applied involves the identification of the key elements of the character’s image and subsequent analysis of it, according to the pertinent literature. The goal was to elucidate whether the mascot's image is consistent with other graphic-visual and semiotic choices adopted by the Campaign and other Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) initiatives. This research is centered on the forms and contents adopted in the promotion and dissemination of mass health campaigns. About three decades ago, the concept of international health was recognized as the efforts of developed countries to save lives in underdeveloped countries. Today, this ideology is best translated by the concept of global health, where problems are increasingly recognized as the same in different localities, solutions are more localized and information is a two-way exchange. The authors note a recent multidisciplinary collaboration in global health actions in which new actors with diverse background participate in the process and contribute with their knowledge. In this partnership, design is developed in cooperation by multidisciplinary teams of professionals in which the designer’s role is of both regent and manager. Through a dialogic perspective of graphic design and sociolinguistic studies, the authors show how visual communication theory enriches the search for solutions in the field of global health. It is possible to see that the strategies adopted in the Campaign are intended not only to persuade families to vaccinate their children but also to empower Brazilian citizens with information on child health and disease prevention. Thus, it is possible to categorize the Campaign as a governmental initiative for both public health promotion and scientific dissemination, constantly seeking to refine its discourse with the public. Understanding campaigns such as the one studied as health and citizenship promotion initiatives, a model for strategic management of graphic resources in media for health communication based on successful historical examples can be valuable in the idealization of future actions in that environment. It is noticed that possible contributions from the population in the elaboration of the actions to spread the disease and mass vaccination are not always considered. Instead, the audience participates as a passive agent in the process; the collective patient of the actions adopted by the WHO, which had the eradication of the disease and the preservation of life as goals. This would indicate that the level of autonomy that is given to the audience in each case would depend on the end that was expected to be achieved: in the case of vaccination – which surpasses any other technology or health action with regard to reducing mortality and in population growth – the model of scientific dissemination adopted is linear, unidirectional and prioritizes the efficiency of the health promotion initiative rather than including the population in decision-making. Media can be used to establish a dialogue between parties, integrating actors of the communication process. Language responds to something and speaks to something: the self and the other are constituents of the discursive process (BAKHTIN, 1997). The other not only receives information but also reacts to it. When saying something to someone, the speaker addresses their speech, assuming the best way to express themselves. In consequence, the statement also reveals how the speaker perceives the other. This perspective corroborates the understanding of communication as an interface between individuals and inserts the communicologist in the social context, whose foundation is the relationship with the other, whether individual or collective. In the second case, in mass communication, the challenge of otherness is crossed by the recognition of the values ​​and knowledge of a community. Thus, the work of the communicologist can be seen as a social phenomenon and the content of his text can provoke, disturb and enable the review of previous judgments, depending on the type of response offered by the audience. In this scenario – where it’s possible to correlate visual communication to health in the form of planning and implementing dissemination and engagement strategies for interested populations – information design studies allow us to understand how health care fits into a users’ lives, instead of understanding how that life fits into the health care system. Strategies adopted in public health are intended not only to persuade families to immunize their children but also to empower citizens in Brazilian territory with information about children's health and prevention. It is possible to understand similar campaigns as government initiatives to promote public health. However the dialogical approach mediated by communication design is the most promising for community engagement in the fight against polio; it is essential to promote it in the form of dialogue, manifesting this ideological reason in the different forms adopted in its promotion, thus constantly seeking to refine the discourse with the audience to make the results more and more positive.