McDonald’s recently broke a new Spanish-language commercial aimed at the U.S. Hispanic market. What makes the ad, "Anthem," interesting is that it is part of the fast food chain’s first branding effort intended to celebrate the cultural richness of Hispanic consumers. The commercial is part of the year-long "Points of Pride" campaign created by advertising agency del Rivero Messianu, Coral Gables, Fla. The ads are scheduled to air on the Telemundo and Univision networks.
Del Rivero Messianu has handled the fast food chain’s Hispanic advertising account since ’94, but "Points of Pride" sets a precedent for McDonald’s via the agency. Luis Mi- guel Messianu, chief creative officer at del Rivero Messianu, says the campaign-which will also include print and radio ads, a concert, television specials and talent contests-is a breakthrough. "DDB [Chicago] is the lead agency for McDonald’s and they do the general market commercials. Burrell [Communications Group, Chicago] does African-American. Leo Burnett [Co., Chicago] does youth, and we do Hispanic," says Messianu. "Most of the time, we all work supporting the different promotions and the different brand efforts. This is the first time there’s been a full-blown, Hispanic-specific [branding] campaign. This is the first time it’s separate from the other programs, and it’s a dedicated effort, which is very exciting.
"[McDonald’s] asked us, ‘What can we do to do a better job of showing our commitment to this consumer segment?,’" he continues. "The reality is that McDonald’s has been a very committed advertiser. They just wanted to take it to the next level. Our challenge was to go beyond the traditional programming we normally do. We looked at it as an opportunity to do a truly integrated campaign. It contains television commercials, but it’s much more than that. It’s an umbrella that’s going to house all the different Hispanic-specific activities throughout the year. It also includes the first Hispanic Web site for McDonald’s."
"Anthem," the initial spot in the year-long campaign, was directed by Claudia Alberdi of Film Planet, which has offices in Venice, Calif., So Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rome and Paris. The ad broke last month during Lo Maximo del Espiritu Latino (The Best of the Hispanic Spirit), an hour-long special that was telecast nationally on Telemundo.
"Anthem" contains several vignettes of Hispanic-Americans in various settings and situations. The black-and-white spot, which features frames of color scattered throughout, opens with an image of an ecstatic crowd at a soccer match cheering a goal. The ad blends images of everyday people with celebrities, including the singer Enrique Iglesias and boxer Oscar De La Hoya. At the end of the commercial, the color frames merge together to form the logo of McDonald’s Web site (www.LoMcXimo.com).
