Toyota Commercial Hits Hispanic Chord
Andy Porras     [Photo]

¡Híjole! - Wow! Not since founding father Thomas Jefferson gave the Spanish language a ringing endorsement back in the 1700s had such support for bilingualism been uttered on a national scale.

And during the Super Bowl, ese! All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Toyota targeted Raza consumers during Super Bowl XL. In the brief, but thought-provoking, seconds the commercial came on, Chicanos in California and Colorado, Mexican Americans in New Mexico and Texas, and Latinos from Long Island to Florida probably spat out their beer when a Hispanic father speaks English with a Spanish accent to his son, who speaks perfect English with no trace of an accent as they drive around in their new Camry Hybrid.

The proud papá explains how the new hybrid vehicle can switch back and forth between gas and electric power.

The mijo, loud and proud, tells his dad,”Just like you, with English and Spanish!”

The father explains why he is bilingual and why he bought the hybrid vehicle and tells his son, “I’m always thinking of your future.”

The Toyota tycoons have developed a bilingual and bicultural commercial, a first for them, and unless we’ve been asleep at the wheel, a first for the industry. Unlike the beer boys who come out with sexist and sometimes stupid ads, these Japanese dudes have themselves a first on their creative hands.

Of course, they targeted all Super Bowl viewers, but accept it, América, they gave us a special nod. And why not? According to the economic experts, Toyota is número uno with Hispanics and the Camry is the third-best-selling car within the Hispanic market.

Latest count showed that seven percent of all Super Bowl aficionados are Hispanics. Monday Night Football, for La Raza ranks as the second-most-watched show during the year. Not only are we ready for some football, we’re ready to consume products that show us as we really are, typical smart shoppers.

Now the bad news. Di que te lo dijo un tonto – tell ’em a nut told you so, but it won’t be long before we start reading letters to the nation’s editors from monolingual morons who will probably consider this business breakthrough as an insult to the “American way of life!” Somehow these mensos will completely turn this commercial around into a race-baiting marathon, or worse, the political correctness police will condemn dual-language learning (again) as being un-American, blah, blah, blah!

Where do we go from here? Hey, if Toyota can pull it off, why can’t the rest of Corporate America? Come on, you know the kind of commercial crud we’ve been served in the past. Need I remind you of the infamous Taco Bell pooch or the Frito Bandito, etc.?

I still recall some of my former friends telling me that “I read too much into those things!”

Well, they were partly right, I do read a lot, maybe that’s why I got it and they didn’t.

To be fair, balanced or whatever, McDonalds in the fast-food industry has been targeting Hispanics all along. So have others like politicians, but too often with appalling results.

What we’ve had in the past has been a failure to communicate honestly and sincerely. Too often these Madison Avenue suits take us for granted, like the Democratic Party. They forget that, besides being family with the original peoples of this hemisphere, we are a unique market that employs biculturalism when on a shopping spree or buying out of need.

For example, we can dig an English CD by Mariah Carey, then turn to the Latino section and groove with Luis Miguel or even do it bilingually with Los Lobos. The other guy, the monolingual one, will spend on only one lingo, bingo! Hey, they’re getting it. Poco a poco, little by little.

Let’s look at the bigger and better bicultural picture. In terms of “what’s-in-it-for-me” attitudes, take a peek: the more bilingual you are, the better chance you have a landing a job in the Southwest. In some states like Califas, you are actually compensated for speaking two languages on the job. A good amigo of mine, a graphic artist originally from Chile, charges 25 cents per word when he translates (English into Spanish) important documents for county or city agencies. At that rate, if my 800-word column were an official document from a county office, and he were to translate it into Spanish, it would cost
200 U.S. dollars!

So keep up the good work, Toyota. You’re bound to get more bang for your bilingual buck.

(Andy Porras, of Sacramento, Calif., is a freelance writer. He may be contacted by e-mail at califasap@yahoo.com)

© 2006 Hispanic Link News Service
2/12/06
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