It’s a Crossover- Spanish Ads in English Media

By Alex Levine

Imagine you’re coming home from a long day of work. You relax for a bit and sit down to watch your favorite TV show. All of a sudden, you hear a dialogue in Spanish. You watch a commercial promoting a product in Spanish with English subtitles sprinkled around. No, you didn’t accidentally switch the channel but that was certainly a Spanish commercial in an English language network. Can this be right? Yes, yes it can. These are called crossover ads.

Crossover ads are no new trend. In fact, these types of ads have been around as early as the 1990s with brands like Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Sears, Pepsi and Coca-Cola taking the lead, running spots in mainstream television networks.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user bulliver. Licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.

With Census findings confirming the more than 50 million Hispanics make up 16% of the estimated U.S. population, Hispanics are a significantly big portion of the general audience. Though they can be a niche market, they are becoming the general market. For this reason, more brands are starting to create crossover ads made completely in Spanish with English subtitles.  Not only do they reach their Hispanic audience but placing them in mainstream media helps reach the general audience as well.

There is a major force that’s driving this trend: It’s the large amount of acculturated, bilingual Hispanics in the U.S. According to a report released by Scarborough Research (a consumer research firm), bilingual Hispanics make up 82% of the Hispanic population. Add to that their acculturation, or the absorption and mixture of more than one culture from birth, and you’ve got a group of Hispanics who can not only feel comfortable living in American culture and their Hispanic roots but can easily weave in and out of conversations in both English and Spanish.

Back in 2003, Crest ran a 30-second spot where a couple was getting ready for work. When the husband kisses his wife goodbye and tries to leave, he comes back for more of her kisses. The whole dialogue is in Spanish but has the tagline, “White teeth and fresh breath. In any language,” in English. This commercial not only aired in a mainstream network but did so during the Grammy Awards.

Image courtesy of Flickr user epSos.de. Licensed through Creative Commons 2.0

Yet, not all of these campaigns have met success. Taking a Spanish language ad and running it in mainstream media has brought back the debate for the preference of English as the only language of communication in America. In 1999, Chevron test marketed an animated television spot in L.A. In the spot, a car was singing in a mariachi style and had English subtitles. Though it only ran for a week in general market media, the ad took the heat from viewers who argued, “This is America, speak English.” The ad might have also offended some Hispanic audiences by using a cliché part of Hispanic culture.

So how do you decide whether or not to take the crossover approach? That very well depends on a number of factors, including how acculturated your Hispanic audience is, their mix of American culture, values, tradition as well as those from other cultures that surround them (Asians, African Americans, Arabs, etc.). Chances are that those more acculturated will not only be tuning in to Spanish media but English as well. Because acculturated Hispanics will likely be bilingual (or multilingual), there are more choices of how you take the crossover approach, either Spanish language in English media or explore the option of English language ads in Spanish media. However, ethnicity and language are not the only deciding factors for effectively reaching your Hispanic audience. Lifestyles, values and overall the way they experience their Latino identity are essential in creating an effective message. The key point: it must resonate with your designated audience.

How do you feel about crossover ads? Are there any that you’ve seen? Do you think they’re effective? Why or why not? Share with us your thoughts.