Pizza eats "Spanglish
A pizza chain is wooing Hispanics in the U.S. with bilingual TV ads
A pizza chain is wooing Hispanics in the U.S. with bilingual TV spotsBy Thérèse BalduzziThe growing Hispanic population in the U.S. has long been catered to by advertising on Spanish radio and TV channels. But for the first time, English-language cable channel Nickelodeon is airing a bilingual commercial, ushering in a new development.
The results of the last census in the United States confirm it: the Spanish-speaking minority is growing exponentially. It increased by 58 percent in the last decade and is now the largest minority in the country. By 2050, they are expected to account for 25 percent of the U.S. population. The so-called "non-Hispanic whites" are well on their way to becoming a minority themselves, a development that has already taken place in California.
The majority of the Hispanic population is under the age of 18. Unlike their parents, who do not learn English until they are adults, their children have mostly grown up bilingual. They speak English at school, Spanish at home, and "Spanglish" among themselves by switching from one language to the other in the middle of a sentence or by Hispanizing English vocabulary and forming "el brode" from "brother," for example.
Parents should show the kids where the pizza is baked
A new TV commercial from the pizza chain Chuck E. Cheese's does justice to this reality. Chuck E. Cheese's serves pizzas and salads combined with entertainment for kids, from games to stage shows featuring the company's mascot. In it, a mouse named Chuck E. performs with his music-making friends. The chain operates 380 stores in 45 states across the U.S., many in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods.
In the "Estudiantes" spot, which runs on the children's channel Nickelodeon, company mascot Chuck E. talks about the Latino parents shown staying with their children at a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant, in Spanish as a student. He then continues in English, "Parents don't have to get it; they just have to help get you there." Finally, the mouse switches back to Spanish: "No esta mal novatos" (not bad for beginners). The tagline reads, "The real cool place to be a kid."
The spot runs during "The Brothers Garcia," an English-language show with Hispanic themes and characters. This, along with two shows, "Dora the Explorer" and "Taina," are targeted at the Hispanic 15 percent of Nickelodeon's audience and also contain single Spanish phrases.
The decision of Nicke-
lodeon to air bilingual ads is a sign of how mainstream stations are reaching out to the fast-growing minority. The move also represents new territory for Chuck E. Cheese's, the move represents new territory. Last year, the company began a major advertising campaign targeting Hispanic families that aired on major Spanish-speaking network stations Univision and Telemundo. The 15-second spot was conceived by New York-based agency Zambrelli.
The results of the last census in the United States confirm it: the Spanish-speaking minority is growing exponentially. It increased by 58 percent in the last decade and is now the largest minority in the country. By 2050, they are expected to account for 25 percent of the U.S. population. The so-called "non-Hispanic whites" are well on their way to becoming a minority themselves, a development that has already taken place in California.
The majority of the Hispanic population is under the age of 18. Unlike their parents, who do not learn English until they are adults, their children have mostly grown up bilingual. They speak English at school, Spanish at home, and "Spanglish" among themselves by switching from one language to the other in the middle of a sentence or by Hispanizing English vocabulary and forming "el brode" from "brother," for example.
Parents should show the kids where the pizza is baked
A new TV commercial from the pizza chain Chuck E. Cheese's does justice to this reality. Chuck E. Cheese's serves pizzas and salads combined with entertainment for kids, from games to stage shows featuring the company's mascot. In it, a mouse named Chuck E. performs with his music-making friends. The chain operates 380 stores in 45 states across the U.S., many in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods.
In the "Estudiantes" spot, which runs on the children's channel Nickelodeon, company mascot Chuck E. talks about the Latino parents shown staying with their children at a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant, in Spanish as a student. He then continues in English, "Parents don't have to get it; they just have to help get you there." Finally, the mouse switches back to Spanish: "No esta mal novatos" (not bad for beginners). The tagline reads, "The real cool place to be a kid."
The spot runs during "The Brothers Garcia," an English-language show with Hispanic themes and characters. This, along with two shows, "Dora the Explorer" and "Taina," are targeted at the Hispanic 15 percent of Nickelodeon's audience and also contain single Spanish phrases.
The decision of Nicke-
lodeon to air bilingual ads is a sign of how mainstream stations are reaching out to the fast-growing minority. The move also represents new territory for Chuck E. Cheese's, the move represents new territory. Last year, the company began a major advertising campaign targeting Hispanic families that aired on major Spanish-speaking network stations Univision and Telemundo. The 15-second spot was conceived by New York-based agency Zambrelli.
