A new series of clever ads for back-to-school products has just been released by the folks at Staples…and they’re following in the recent footsteps of Verizon and Pepsi by featuring on-camera Latino actors and actresses to sell to the masses.
This isn’t part of the years-old mania for “hispanic advertising,” where Madison Avenue continues to insist there is some sort of monolithic “Spanish Language” market out there that is begging for bad commercials in their native tongue (or some version of it). No, this is something entirely different: using attractive and appealing on-camera personae to sell products to everyone, from white to brown to black and beyond.
Sofia Vergara was the first with her sizzling beachfront skit for Diet Pepsi. Paul Rodriguez came next, with a warm and enjoyable straight-to-the-camera pitch for Verizon a few weeks later. And now Sofia’s on-camera son Rico Rodriguez has joined the army of the pitchmen in a whole series of 30-second “back to school” spots for Staples, the office supply store, that will be featured on primetime shows like CSI this summer and fall. (In fact, they’re building their entire, high-profile “Back to School” campaign around Rico.)
But here’s the most interesting thing: there are very few actors of any ethnicity who are willing to put themselves in front of the camera at the height of their careers (and no, Bill Shatner for PriceLine doesn’t count. He hasn’t been at the height of his career since 1969). Yet three of them–two of a show that just snagged 17 Emmy nominations–are Latinos…and they’re selling products to everyone, not just to the Latino segment of the market.
Yet another example that Latinos are becoming more accepted and even essential to entertainment in the U.S. And that’s a good thing (just as good as any commercial that shows us so much of Sofia Vergara).
You can see Paul Rodriguez’ Verizon ad here…Sofia’s infamous Diet Pepsi ad here…and the whole sequence of Rico’s Staples ads here (we like the one about the flash drive best). And a special price to the first person who can name the charming young actress called “Haley” who’s paired with Rico in most of the ads.
