In a move that hopefully won’t land the movie in a vault like Song of the South, Disney has announced it’s next Latino surprise and new animated feature titled “South of the Border”. The movie is about a little Chihuahua from Beverly Hills that gets lost while traveling south of the Rio Grande set to star none other than Drew Barrymore.
Its Latino counterparts include another Chihuahua played by comedian George Lopez; a ‘spirit guide’ that helps Barrymore’s character find her Latino roots played by Salma Hayek; an ex K-9 german sheperd played by Andy Garcia, and other unidentified breeds played by Cheech Marin, opera singer Plácido Domingo among others. Some already holding Disney contracts…others, like Lopez, having just lost one. Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a really cool presentation that a friend found and shared regarding social media. I think it should serve as a wake up call to the Hispanic market although the learnings are from the general market. It should serve as a roadmap of what is to come. However, we are obviously not as jaded as the general market when it comes to trust and messaging as stated in the presentation. As our market remains mostly traditional in its approach, the evolution will occur fast and furious so it will be survival of the fittest. I call it the global warming of the Hispanic market.
Well, the future is here. These social trends and technologies are affecting the more acculturated portions of our market; starting with our youth. In order to communicate with them, we will need to begin to acknowledge these mediums as viable marketing channels. Will you (agency or advertiser) be a fossil or a survivor?
Here is a nice historical overview and some nice comments from the red carpet at the 2007 Alma Awards hosted by none other than Latina sweetheart Eva Longoria.
They are really making a big effort to make this a big event, another surprise Disney has in store for the Hispanic market. Although the event went dark for 2004/2005 as it tried to reinvent and define itself and seems to have come back for the second year with more star power than ever. It has even returned with a major automotive sponsor - none other than my former client General Motors’ Chevrolet division. Read the rest of this entry »
Personally, I am a HUGE Food Network junkie.And although Latinos have been represented on the network by Venezuelan-born Ham on the Street host George Duran, the themes have never really been Latino focused.Aside from the occasional “taco dinner night” by Paula Deen or a “paella with a twist” by Giada De Laurentiis, there has never been any real “home cooked” Hispanic meals.Until Colombian-born and Miami-transplant Ingrid Hoffman was signed on. They recently showcased her at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in February; which has become a huge and pricey celeb-fest here in Miami.It’s amazing to see how many shows they shot here that week.
Her new show “Simply Delicioso,” will be airing Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. beginning July 14, Hoffman will take her place as the network’s first Latina host.She comes to the Food Network from a cable show Delicioso on Galavision and segments on Univision’s Despierta America.There are many Spanish-language stars who have tried to cross over to English but have not always successfully.But media experts think Hoffmann, 42, has a shot. For starters, food is common ground for all cultures.Now that’s very insightful…NOT!
According to Bob Tuschman, the Food Network’s senior vice-president for programming and production, Hoffmann’s success in Spanish underscores her appeal. He said the network was impressed by her take on Latin food. “Ingrid has a sparkling personality, a breezy way of making cooking approachable and a passion to take classics and give them a Latin twist,” he wrote in an e-mail. Read the rest of this entry »
Matt Lauer will be hosting NBC’s “Today” show live from Cuba today to report on the political and economic climate there.My curiosity as to how accurately depicted things will be.Given Castro’s current health situation, government restriction on access are high and should pose an interesting backdrop.I am sure they will not be interviewing any official heads of state.However, although the Today Show is my daily morning ritual…I don’t see it as the forum for real hard lining news.
Although Lauer is a world traveler for “Today,” it took them over 18 months to negotiate the visit to a country only 90 miles from the United States, said Jim Bell, the show’s executive producer. Bell used his ability to speak Spanish in the negotiations.
After having the chance to watch the entire broadcast from Cuba, I believe they tried to do too much in such little time. With a little over 1 hour of true Cuban content, we were left wanting more. I sure hope that they are taping other segments for other shows while they were there, if not, the trip and all that effort were in vain. Afterall, it takes months and even years to get that kind of access approved by the government.
I believe that although NBC played the role of unbiased media outlet, that the coverage was very vanilla and really didn’t get at anything important. I believe the reporting was a 30,000 mile perspective of what life in Cuba is about. It did not deal with anything difficult…or easy for that matter.
The overly simplistic, but SUPER-insightful video released last week by Microsoft titled “Bring the Love Back“….yes MS…reveals the often one-sided, ego-centric relationship that exists today between brands (and their agencies) and the consumers that buy their products.
In the Hispanic market, brands, to some degree, have had to do a great deal of listening in order to correctly service their Hispanic consumer base. Not by choice, but because they are afraid of public failure.Many only get one shot to do it right.But in the general market, that is really not the case. And as marketers become savvy of the Hispanic market, I believe this too will begin to occur.
This blog was developed to discuss issues affecting Hispanic marketing today. It is also intended to offer a fresh perspective different from the scripted media coverage currently being offered in the industry.
announced it’s next Latino surprise and new animated feature titled “South of the Border”. The movie is about a little 
