NFL Taps Vidal for Hispanic Outreach
September 03, 2007
By Nancy Ayala
'The beauty of this campaign that Vidal crafted was the humor,' said Rob Stecklow, the NFL's ad director.
NEW YORK When Monday Night Football airs on ESPN, don't be surprised to hear Spanish emanating from your set during commercial time.
The NFL is doing its part to recognize the growing legion of Latino "American Football" fans who also will be glued to the game. The new Spanish-language campaign chant will be "Juntense"—or, the command, "Get Together"—created by New York-based Hispanic advertising agency The Vidal Partnership (TVP), which debuts Sept. 10.
It will not be the first time the NFL airs Spanish-language spots during the games, but the commercials will get significantly more air time than in the past. The Spanish-language commercials will include two 30-second spots and four 10-second IDs that will be rotated during the televised games on ESPN and NBC, as well as on CBS and Fox. The NBC Universal-owned Telemundo and ESPN Deportes also will air the spots. Univision Radio will air a 30-second commercial beginning Sept. 10, also by TVP.
"The beauty of this campaign that Vidal crafted was the humor," said Rob Stecklow, director of advertising for the NFL. "We never looked at that kind of advertising for the Hispanic community. In the past, we had a more PSA approach, more community-based on using football and using players."
He likens the new campaign to taking "a bit of a page from our [general-market] work," by BBDO, playing up the fun in sports.
"What we liked about Vidal is that, just like BBDO, they wanted to push it, they wanted it to be big, to be funny," said Stecklow, who can see TVP getting in earlier in the creative process next year (the agency came on board in July). "They really want people buzzing about the work."
The 30-second spots include humorous acknowledgements by Latinos about being an American football fan, versus the usually subscribed soccer fan label. The 10-second IDs depict playful, culturally relevant themes, such as a Latino in a Norteño hat wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey or an in-home altar in adoration of the Miami Dolphins.
"We started with the idea that there is a fan base, and they have a greater emotional connection [to the NFL]," said Tony Ruiz, partner and CSO at TVP
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