BOLD Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month By Holding A Discussion About Hispanic Marketing
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, BOLD held a “Hispanic Marketing Smackdown” on Tuesday, September 22nd to showcase different commercials that successfully targeted the Hispanic market. BOLD members analyzed the commercials and voted on their favorites as they discussed messages and strategies behind these ads. The commercials featured included HP vs. Tide; JFK vs. Joe Biden; Univision vs. Coca-Cola; McDonald’s (Tio Roberto) vs. McDonald’s (First Customer); Walmart vs. Wells Fargo; and Narcos vs. Got Milk.
The McDonald’s (Tio Roberto) ad was voted as the winner of the Smackdown. The commercial focused on the language barrier between a young boy and his Hispanic uncle, which was overcome through their shared love for McDonald’s food.
Members resonated with the ad because of its simple yet heartwarming message that is a reality for many Hispanic FIU students. The ad also featured relatable and realistic situations such as mixing up the words “derecho” (straight) and “derecha” (right). “These are the tiny details that you can tell that a Hispanic person had some input in this. They are speaking from experience. I think that goes a long way when you’re targeting that specific demographic,“ pointed out Daniela Gil, BOLD’s Director of Culture.
Another group favorite was the Wells Fargo “Souvenir” commercial which featured the story of a Hispanic truck driver father that would bring home rocks from different US states to his daughter who dreamed of being a geologist. “It’s beautiful to see the growth in America. It represented that the dad was working hard but his daughter is going to be even bigger. And that is beautiful,” said Malena Parra, a BOLD associate.
The second portion of the meeting consisted of examples of commercials that failed to incorporate and/or represent the Hispanic audience in a genuine and respectful way. One of these commercials was a Coca-Cola ad which featured white individuals introducing Coca-Cola to an indigenous region. “I didn’t like it because it gives the connotation that because the people are indigenous it meant that they needed help from the fairer skinned people. It felt “white savior-esque,” shared Joshua Burrion, a BOLD Account Executive.
The meeting was concluded with a discussion from BOLD President, Carlos Ortiz as he talked about the importance of Hispanic representation in the media and encouraged members to think about their impact when they enter the industry. “Miami and FIU are not representative of the rest of the United States. We live in a “bubble” where you walk outside and see Hispanic people all around you. I’ve joined PR talks where people point out that there is not enough representation in lower level and higher level positions. That is why it is important for you all to think about different countries and cultures so you put out the most effective message for your brand.”
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Written by: Alejandra Chahine, Director of Public Relations