TxDOT creates Mini Telenovelas to reach Hispanic Audience.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) launched a series of mini telenovelas this month in an effort to extend the message to the Hispanic community about the consequences of drinking and driving. TxDOT is one of the first U.S. state agencies to tackle the dangers of drinking and driving through the telenovela format, which is very popular in the Spanish-speaking community.

The telenovelas aired as thirty second and two minute spots on Univision, Estrella, and Telefutura during the evening news for two weeks in late November. They aired in markets throughout Texas including Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, Rio Grande Valley, San Angelo, and San Antonio.

The telenovelas will air again around Easter, July 4, and Dieciseis de Septiembre (September 16). The three, two-minute episodes will also be available online at http://www.youtube.com/txdotpio> and will be used as teaching tools by civic and social service organizations throughout the state.

“We created telenovelas to reach women and men in the Hispanic community,” said Carol T. Rawson P.E., TxDOT Traffic Operations Director. “We want to encourage people to take the initiative and not let the people they care about get behind the wheel after they’ve been drinking.”

The agency has created three short telenovelas that follow the members of a Hispanic family as they experience drinking and driving situations. The goal is to relay information on how to proactively prevent drinking and driving, how to explain the consequences of drinking and driving to those unfamiliar with the laws, and how drinking and driving can affect the lives of young adults.