Cesar Millan has already conquered the canine world, the publishing world and a good portion of the cable TV world, with more than 150 (and counting) episodes of The Dog Whisperer. Now…he’s going after advertising. And poor, innocent food.
In one of the stranger “hispanic marketing” efforts in recent memory, Cesar is willing participant in a 3-and-a-half-minute mini-documentary called “The Skillet Whisperer,” in which–and we’re quoting the press release now–“Milian steps in to help an overwhelmed family who is confronted with an aggressive Western Skillet, from the new “Sizzlin’ Skillets” menu, and teaches the family how to display their dominance to calm the skillet so that it may be eaten and enjoyed in a respectful manner.”
You can find it in English here on the Funny or Die website, or in Spanish here on YouTube. Cesar’s in both versions, but the rest of the cast changes from Anglo to Latino actors (and Cesar’s own son Calvin plays the ‘son’ character in the Spanish version.)
This is Denny’s first set of spots from its new Hispanic advertising agency, and the first time Milian has been a pitchman for a restaurant chain. And it’s interesting to see the similarities and differences between the English and Spanish versions. Best of all, neither version plays on stereotypes or assumptions about either culture; this whole concept is funny (or weird) in either language—and a nice change from the norm when it comes to Hispanic marketing these days.
We’ll see if there is more to come from Denny’s, Funny or Die, or Cesar Milian…the Dog Skillet Whisperer!
