Pandora's Box is a Greek myth in which the gods placed all the world's misfortunes, such as war, discord and diseases of the body and soul, in a box. However, at the bottom of the box there was also a single gift: hope. The purpose of this work was to draw an analogy between this myth and TV. We will therefore discuss social merchandising in Brazilian soap operas, analysing it as a social communication strategy. To do this, it was necessary to learn a little about the history of Brazilian television and, crucially, to study its "discourse" and the possible effects on the behaviour of viewers of this powerful means of mass communication in its most profitable product: the telenovela. This is a journey through the universe of television, the effects and involvement of its plots in the routine of Brazilian viewers.