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Universal shifts its El Lórax campaign for the Latino market into high gear tonight on Univision’s Premio Lo Nuestro Latin Music Awards. The animated Lorax character voiced in Spanish by Danny DeVito will introduce a band and the specially created 90-second preview below. It’s in English, with subtitles and voiceover announcement in Spanish. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax opens March 2.
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This is genius. An amazing way to go after that audience in an organic way. This will pay off in spades. Good job Uni! Bar-setting.
Damn. Wish we had thought of this for one of our films. Commendable that Universal is thinking out of the box.
When I see a Spanish-language commercial for a product, I avoid the product. Encouraging a second language in America will lead to a new generation that reads on a third-grade level. This is not smart.
Agreed. It’s called pandering.
You understand that people in other countries speak other languages, right? And that movies are marketed to those different countries in their native language. Is that alright with you?
That last comment was dumb. Borderline racist
I disagree- it encourages learning a second language!
This is probably the most ignorant thing I’ve heard in a long time. If you’re avoiding products promoting in a second language then get ready to get rid of all your worldly possessions. Becuase Every product you own is promoted in Spanish…except whatever backwards company you represent.
I for one am happy that a studio like Universal gets the concept of Total Market Immersion when it comes to Latinos in US. Its something that blue chip companies like McDonalds and P&G have adopted and its awesome to see that Hollywood recognizes the $ this market can bring. Kudos Universal for being on the cutting edge. That kind of fwd thinking will reap BO rewards. The folks responsible deserve a raise for thinking beyond “their box”.
Everyone DOES realize this is for Latinos in the US, right? Some commentors are just clueless
Nikki, cool that you are showcase some of the innovative work that marketers are doing to capture the US Hispanic market. This kind of stuff needs to be studied!
With the grosses of the Ice Ages and Puss in Boots and other animated kid pics with Latinos this is no surprise while being smart. Just makes sense.
First of all, this is not cutting edge. Second, their approach is absolutely all wrong.
First – This was the first time ever in PREMIO LO NUESTRO that an animated character presented. And second, how would you do it differently?
Seriosuly? When have you heard of a studio doing a piece like this for this market! It definitely is cutting edge
Danny did his Lorax part in four different languages. Pretty awesome.
So hot shot, what’s wrong with the approach? I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been in the Hollywood and Hispanic space for 15 years!
As a Latino, I get the impression this film will be released with subtitles. Is that really the case? My 8 year old bilingual son saw this commercial last night on Univision and I could see him trying to read the Spanish and being confused as to why he was reading it.
I understand that you want to have a unique approach to the Hispanic market but I feel you’re not really advertising what the product will be like in theaters.
If your son understood the dialogue, why was he reading the subtitles. Better question, if your son doesnt understand Spanish, why is he watching Univision?
i think Latino film goers are savvy enough that they will see the film in English. They know what the typical film experience will be and the world they live in. This ad is innovative because it pays respect to the audience watching Univision, regardless of language comfort. Its in English, but the subtitles make sure that those that are comfy with Spanish wont be excluded from enjoying this first scene. Its exactly how other products are marketed to Latinos – “cole-gah-tay” instead of “colgate” if you will. Also remember that this is one piece of a massive, mostly English campaign. This was just a “first introduction” and its best that everyone understands. A studio has never taken it this far, which is what makes it interesting to see if it will work…
My son was watching Univision becasue his mom works in Spanish language media and we like our child to watch Spanish television.
The spot was not funny, out of place, and felt like a total attempt at getting approval from the Spanish speaking community yet, it didn’t really “say” anything to them.
I agree with you that Latino film-goers are savy. They are also know the differene between messages that are meant for them and messages that are a gimmick. Like when a spot has Latinos speaking Spanish and saying “cole-gah-te” with a (“TE” at the end) rather than taking an Enghlish language Colgate comercial with white people and subtitling it. I’m not saying that LORAX has to be culturally relevant, but addin the word “EL” before the title does not make it hip or “Latino”. It just means somone with no grounded concept of Latino culture is telling the non-Latino executives at a studio that this commercial is “paying respect” and i don’t undertand that at all.
I disagree with everything this response is saying.
The spot WAS funny. I saw it in a room with my son, my mother and my hubby and all were laughing at the lines and the physical comedy. What this commercial also did was allow us of all generations and language preferences to enjoy the same thing . . commendable in this day and age.
Also regarding the EL, its smart that the studio did that. It’s the way people in Spanish will refer to “this product”. They will say “quiero ver El Lorax” so its smart that they are promoting that and adding that to the Spanish vernacular. Many times, the issue with awareness is due to challenges with the title, so this gets that out of the way for this audience.
I believe that you are taking this all too seriously “Confused Latino”, and not embracing the commercial as a step forward in how movies are marketed to this audience. At the end of the day, the movie is the movie, and it would have been dishonest to just dub it in Spanish for the audience, so they are doing the best they can to market in a smart way. I think Latinos dont see this as a gimmick. It’s more strategic than you give it credit for. . . the move is not just two letters before a title as you are simplifying it, at least IMHO.
I am a sound mixer and IMHO this spot sounds like crud.
Great, encourage a bi-lingual nation… it’s worked so well for Canada. Can’t wait for our version of Quebec’s “Language Police”!