This week’s Hispanic Advertising Series story centers on agencies who have adopted a holistic approach to the marketplace, embracing the connection between Hispanic and mainstream culture.
“The Hispanic dynamic is exploding in popular culture,” affirmed Laurie Malaga, director of production at ad agency la comunidad. “Having insight into Latin culture is becoming essential for insights into the general market, especially in the youth market. This can be a great advantage for Hispanic agencies who realize that you have to evolve with the culture and it’s part of a bigger picture–and a disadvantage for those agencies who just want to keep their Hispanic niche and don’t see how it’s affecting the general market and how the general market is impacting the Hispanic culture. If you want to be a great Hispanic agency, you have to be open to this expansive relationship and connection.”
Malaga acknowledged that there remain agencies who like to stay inside their box and make good money by virtue of being specialists. “But if you don’t take into account how Hispanic culture is meshing into pop culture and the general market, you will wind up losing that specialty box.”
That spirit is reflected in the creative philosophy of davidandgoliath, which recently opened a fully integrated Hispanic division, dñg, under the aegis of Adela Romero. David Angelo, chairman/chief creative officer of davidandgoliath, said that at dñg, “Instead of being an afterthought to mainstream campaign and strategy, the Hispanic market is connected to the mainstream effort and developed as part of that from its inception.
Romero related that an integrated, holistic approach “helps us ground our work not in the differences but in fundamental values, universal emotions, finding commonality between very diverse segments, which is even more important when we target the youth market. The youth are redefining what the mainstream audience is. Hispanic youth help shape and influence the general market, particularly in California. Mainstream communications are being shaped by Latino influence and to try to separate the two is counterproductive.”
A notable example of keeping consistency in brand personality across Hispanic and mainstream markets is creative work for the California Milk Processor Board account. The famed, longstanding yet evolving “got milk?” campaign has been a staple in American advertising from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
But the companion campaign in the Hispanic market had been quite different, including an approach centering on “Familia, Amor y Leche” (Family, Love and Milk). A little more than two years ago, agency Grupo Gallegos landed the milk account and decided to go with a campaign that was consistent in its light-hearted tone and special brand of humor with the spirit of Goodby’s “got milk?” Juan Oubina, group creative director at Grupo Gallegos, explained, “You don’t want a schizophrenic brand that has one personality in the English-language market and another in the Hispanic market,” he says. “You have to maintain consistency in brand personality because many Hispanic viewers are watching both English and Spanish-language television. Essentially, we’re one market.”
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More