El Pollo Loco ‘Dark Side’.

El Pollo Loco, Inc. unveiled the first of four new Spanish language television commercials created by its Hispanic advertising agency-of-record, Los Angeles-based cruz/kravetz:IDEAS.

El Pollo Loco’s 2007 campaign delivers a fanatical twist on the Hispanic communication strategy adopted earlier by the 360-unit restaurant chain. The strategy, “The Mexican sabor of our fresh flame-grilled chicken brings out the loco in you,” reinforces the powerful relationship Hispanics have with El Pollo Loco. Themed “Dark Side,” the new spots vividly demonstrate the extreme lengths people will go to keep El Pollo Loco’s juicy citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

“The strong bond that many Hispanics have with our brand stems from the authentic way we prepare our food, which is often reminiscent of meals they enjoyed growing up,” explained Karen Eadon, chief marketing officer for El Pollo Loco, Inc. “Our creative approach taps into Hispanics’ passion for the citrus-marinated, flame-grilled taste of El Pollo Loco, and our new spots reveal what happens when nice people find themselves pushed to the dark side by their craving for the extraordinary taste of El Pollo Loco.”

The first of four new spots begins airing today. Titled “Abuelita,” it stars Lupe, a sweet natured home nurse, as she begins to feed El Pollo Loco’s juicy flame-grilled chicken to a wheelchair-bound grandma. Lupe is suddenly overcome with temptation and devours the delicious chicken as grandma agonizingly looks on. As the spot closes, grandma musters up her strength and reaches out to try and grab a taste of El Pollo Loco’s fresh flame-grilled chicken.

El Pollo Loco’s new Spanish-language commercials represent a shift in execution from last year’s spots, in which people surrendered to the sensually liberating taste of El Pollo Loco. The 2007 campaign takes that passion to a new darker side.

Cruz/kravetz:IDEAS pulled together a first class team to create the new spots, including Hania Robledo, Oscar-nominated set designer for the movie “Frida,” and Javier Perez Grobet, Director of Photography for “Nacho Libre.”

“We focused on bringing forth the extraordinary passion and enthusiasm Hispanics have for El Pollo Loco,” said Maite D’Amico, chief creative officer for cruz/kravetz:IDEAS. “By showing nice people pushed to the dark side to keep El Pollo Loco to themselves, we were able to demonstrate in an amusing way the depth of their relationship with the brand.”

Each spot will close with El Pollo Loco’s Spanish tagline, “Qué rico pollo” (“That’s tasty chicken!”), introduced in 2004.

El Pollo Loco’s dual communication strategy includes the creation of separate campaigns for general audiences and Hispanic audiences, allowing the brand to embrace its unique relationship with each audience. El Pollo Loco’s connection with Hispanics is reinforced through the brand’s authentic Mexican roots and the familiarity many have with “pollo asado a la parilla,” chicken that is marinated and flame-grilled.

El Pollo Loco’s four new spots will air this year on Spanish-language stations in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Fresno, Las Vegas, Reno, Phoenix and Chicago. For each spot, there is a :30 and :15 version.

To view storyboard CLICK above on “More Images’.