Coors Light Launches Cross Over Ads During Cinco de Mayo @ NBA.
April 10, 2004
On Cinco De Mayo, Coors Brewing Company launches their first Spanish-language commercial on general market television during the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. The commercial, produced by Bromley Communications aired for the first time on Wednesday, May 5 on TNT. The ad will continue to air on English-language television nationally and in select markets.
Bromley Communications and award-winning director Angel Gracia created the commercial, “Güey” (“Dude” in Spanish). It is based on the insight that young adult males communicate with each other through codes. As Latinos continue to set trends, this execution intends to create a new buzz word that is typically used among Mexicans, and can easily be adopted by the general market population given its ease of use and the multiple meanings behind it. The actors speak entirely in Spanish with an announcer voice-over in English at the end. Text clarifies to non-Spanish speakers that güey means dude.
Advertisers have traditionally targeted the Spanish speaking Hispanic segment. With this commercial, the Coors Light brand reaches out to English speaking and bilingual Latinos. Paul Mendieta, director of marketing for Coors said, “We believe the execution will captivate audiences and the message will reach Latinos while extending to other young adult beer drinkers.”
The universal appeal of the commercial is further supported by its debut date. The ad will air for the first time on Cinco de Mayo, which in recent years has transcended its observance by those with Mexican heritage, and has become meaningful to all Latinos and the general population. Ernest Bromley, CEO of Bromley Communications commented, “Our agency has always been at the leading edge, steering our clients to new pathways. Spanish ads running on English- language programming may seem unusual to some, yet it’s natural given our new minority majority urban markets.”