Alma and Hola México Film Festival say Adios to clichés.

The Miami-based agency was charged with promoting the Mexican Film Festival which took place in Los Angeles.

Alma advertising agency developed the concept “Goodbye Clichés, Hello Mexico,” for the Hola Mexico Film Festival for its 2012 edition, a campaign that seeks to reflect a Mexico that offers much more than mariachis, tacos and wrestlers.

Irreverent humor was the tone chosen by the creative team led by Diego Yurkievich, Senior VP Executive Creative Director and Hernan Cerdeiro, VP Group Creative Director to conceptualize the campaign of this festival, which aims to promote independent, delightfully unpredictable films.

The agency developed a teaser, a commercial, two film separators, three online educational videos and an app to seamlessly coexist in TV, web and on social networks. Graphic pieces in print and on the iconic Montalbán Theatre in Los Angeles added presence to the campaign, which featured an über cliché blasting away at a bar full of typical Mexican stereotypes with two miniature pistols wielded by his outrageous mustache. The campaign of the Hola Mexico Film Festival can be found at www.youtube.com/user/holamexicoff.

“The digital component is very important because it allows people to share information and reinforce the message that Mexico is much more than just clichés”, said Yurkievich and Cerdeiro.

The campaign was produced by Letca Films, directed by Jorge Colon. Post-production was handled by Cut Club, Moving Forward Studios and IndieHouse, while the sound design was the responsibility of Personal Music. And from Buenos Aires, Breinmassel was in charge of developing the app.

“The interesting thing is that this festival’s films show us the stories and characters of Mexico beyond the clichés,” added Julian Milanesi and Hernan Pettinaroli, also part of the creative team from the agency.

The project gave the ad agency the opportunity to develop a unique campaign that used humor to emphasize the pride and diversity of a nation, according to Luis Miguel Messianu, President and CCO of Alma. “It allowed us to produce work that stood out and distinguished us from the rest, not only to build the brand but also to contribute to the destruction of some of the stereotypes that Hollywood has created about Latinos,” he said. “As a Hispanic and Mexican in this country, I am extremely proud of the results of this work.”

Messianu noted that the agency “appreciates the trust and creative freedom that Samuel Doeck, Director of the Festival gave us.”