This article discusses the concepts of cooperation and reciprocity, based on a deliberative view of democracy. The authors defend that such concepts do not depend on altruism, but on mutual consideration between interlocutors in a process of exchange of arguments. Based on this idea, the article analyzes the debates waged in Brazil over a referendum to ban the sale of firearms. The investigation looked at campaign advertising through the lenses of frame analysis. The study adopted frame analysis methodology. The results showed that the discourses representing each campaign were shaped within the interactional space between the two, thereby revealing a reciprocity or cooperation between the interlocutors.