Hispanic Heritage Month – Reaching Latina Moms

By Natalie Boden, Founder of BodenPR, Miami Public Relations agency

The majority of times when we speak about Hispanic heritage, we think of our language, our religion, our food and other customs.  What about the cartoons/characters we grew up with? Chapulin Colorado, Cepillin, Topogigio? Are they part of our heritage? We like to think they are, since they conjure so many childhood memories, values and general characteristics of what being Latino means – wittiness (we are humble too;), a general joie de vivre and great comraderie.

And from a marketers point of view, as we reach out to Latina Moms, developing campaigns that conjure a nostalgia that push our emotional buttons as purchasers could be very compelling. For example, a few days ago we were in Target and we saw a series of Chavo del Ocho toys (cartoon version of the renown sitcom). We picked it up immediately and purchased it. My son then started to learn all about El Chavo and the myriad characters on the show, including their humor, wit and language – it was an impulse buy, but it encompassed so much for me, a Latina mom: a modern version of the character we loved as children, a Hispanic heritage element and an educational game: perfect mix.

We strongly believe that using timeless brands of yesteryear  (with their permission) can result in a highly entertaining and compelling campaign for Latina Moms. A campaign that helps us educate our children, teaches them about the characters we loved as kids and helps us keep language and heritage alive, will always strike a very special chord.

On the topic of  characters we grew up with, another favorite one is our version of the tooth fairy: El Ratonsito Perez. It wasn’t a pretty, tutu porting fairy that brought us our little treat for having lost our tooth, it was a mouse. Watch out for the campaign we recently launched for Delta Dental – the Hispanic version of the tooth fairy is going to take over the airwaves! Stay tuned for pictures, media coverage and visits made by el Ratonsito Perez to our very offices.

And on the topic of what we allow our children to watch on TV, we all dream of a channel that shows all the cartoons we grew up with: Abejita Maya, el Chapulin, Topogigio and more. I know I would purchase the cable package in an instant.