HispanicBusiness

By Dianne Solis

February 4 - Last fall at the first Latin Grammy Awards, rocker Carlos Santana bantered in Spanish and crooner Gloria Estefan gabbed in English. Then came the Spanish-language commercial break for Denny's, AT&T and Sears on the English-language network CBS.

Que pasa?

That cluster of Spanish-language commercials on the Latin Grammys was considered a breakthrough for the market.

Tory Syvrud, president of the Dallas office of Siboney USA, which made the Denny's commercial, said he had no hesitation in using Spanish on the English-language network.

"Many understand that this is not a subculture that will blend into the general culture," he says. "For the immigrant, the days of having to learn the language of your new country are gone."

Besides, Mr. Syvrud says, "Spanish speaks to the heart," and plucking at emotions is the best way to get the consumer to plunk down money for a product or a service.

Inspiring the crossover is the boom in the population of U.S. Latinos -- now at 32 million.

And today's Latinos are wealthier than ever. The 1990s' spike in their buying power -- to $452.4 billion -- has made them far richer consumers than even those in Mexico, a country of 100 million.

"We know that Hispanics are acculturated and are very sophisticated and can speak as well in English as in Spanish," said Jenifer Harmon, senior director of advertising and media at Denny's parent company, Advantica Restaurant Group Inc. of Spartanburg, S.C. "But we know they want to keep their culture close to them, too."

The Denny's commercial -- produced by Siboney, one of the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic ad agencies -- included such lines as "Nos vemos en Denny's," or "We'll see you at Denny's," and showed young Latino hipsters catching breakfast at the diner at nocturnal hours.

It used heartthrob-of-the-moment Elvis Crespo with remixed lyrics to Mr. Crespo's rhythmic merengue hit "Suavemente," or Softly.

AT&T Corp. has been advertising to the Latino community for 15 years in Spanish-language media, but placing those same commercials on an English-language network was considered innovative, said Mark Siegel, AT&T spokesman for consumer services.

"Obviously, the thought there was that people don't suddenly step out of their cultural framework because they are watching an English language show, " Mr. Siegel said.

Will they do it again?

Mr. Siegel is noncommittal: "Hard to say. We thought it was a good opportunity, and we are always open to new ways to reach an important audience."

For others, the corporate crossover into Spanish on English networks appears to be here to stay.

"To speak Spanish was not acceptable 15 years ago, but now it's almost fashionable," says Erik Altamirano, art director for the Conexion Ele unit of the Slingshot advertising agency in Dallas.

The Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain, operated by Irving-based CEC Entertainment Inc., just began running bilingual commercials on Nickelodeon, the English-language cable television network catering to young people. The commercials run on "The Brothers Garcia," a show launched last year.

"We thought it would be a fun thing to do and would be a natural extension," said Jon Rice, the chain's vice president for marketing.

Chuck E. Cheese is hoping to pop up pizza sales -- mimicking the results it got last year when it started its first Spanish-language ads on Spanish-langauge television stations in Latino-saturated markets, Mr. Rice said.