Please, Leave Our Abuelita Alone!

Pitching Family Values to Sell Us Junk Food

Posted by Laura Martinez on 09.12.07 @ 11:28 AM

Laura Martinez

In the annals of Hispanic marketing, the figure of the abuelita (grandma) has been used to the point of exhaustion. We've seen her pitching toothpaste, hot chocolate, phone cards -- even high-speed Internet services. But to invoke her cooking abilities to pitch junk food is a bit of a stretch.

Take Kraft Foods' latest Hispanic-targeted initiative, De mamá a mamá (From mother to mother), a program, says the company, designed to help busy Hispanic moms keep the family traditions alive through food, "especially recipes taught by abuelita." The marketing effort, announced last week, includes a series of television spots featuring Bibi Gaytán, the 35-plus-year-old Mexican former singer and telenovela actress who is now a mother of three and apparently not a very good cook. (During a recent spot, Bibi told other busy Latino moms how to make grilled-cheese sandwiches by putting Kraft singles in between two pieces of white bread and how to mix Tang powder mix to come up with something that resembles orange juice.)

Bibi Gaytán

In a press release, the company explains to us, journalists, the basics of the initiative. Basically, Kraft tells us, it understands how "Hispanic mothers go through a constant negotiation between their new lifestyle in the U.S. and their family traditions," something that might explain why we should send our kids off to school with a healthy combination of Oscar Mayer hot-dogs and Ritz crackers, which by the way the company calls "sensible meal ideas." To make the point stronger, Bibi herself peppers the information with her own take of motherhood: "I am always exploring new ways to be 'supermom,' while spending quality time with my children and providing them with smarter lifestyle choices so they can keep their bodies and minds strong." All this while throwing out concepts such as merienda and café con leche while pitching Jell-O gelatin snacks and Oreo cookies.

Call me crazy but sometimes I think marketers come up with these things just to play with our heads. Do they really think we'll fall for the "family tradition" pitch when they are basically telling us how to take processed foods out of a box? I may have grown up in the wrong "Hispanic" household, but I don't recall grandma giving me Macaroni & Cheese dinners, nor enjoying a family gathering dunking Oreos in café con leche. (Who wants kids on caffeine anyway?)

Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against fast-food or Bibi Gaytán (OK, maybe a little) but I think leveraging the so-called Latino family and "cooking values" for the sake of using a Latino "insight" is not the way to go. Hispanic marketers who have traditionally fed the business with stereotypes about Latinos (hats, maracas, music, huaraches, etc.) should at least give us a break when it comes to junk food: Give us fatty burgers, meals in a box or sodas anytime you like, but please leave our abuelitas alone.

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Read more from Laura daily at Mi Blog Es Tu Blog.

5 Comments

By kent | Sarasota, FL September 13, 2007 08:06:42 am:

So let me pose this question, how does a marketer of such unsavory products effectively communicate their message and value to the Hispanic audience? For the sake of simplicity, what might Oreo's message be...

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By jlv156 | HOUSTON, TX September 13, 2007 09:47:59 am:

Hispanics are humans too, they eat and like sweet treats just as other humans do. The Oreo's message could be as simple as to communicate the delicious taste of the product. Keep in mind that Oreo's is not new "American" product to many Hispanics, they likely grew up with it in their home country. I remember many oreo during my meriendas in Caracas after school.

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By daryl orris | Minnetonka, MN September 13, 2007 09:48:26 am:

Marketing to Hispanics.

"Abuelita" (grandma) used for marketing food products is merely a testimonial. And who could be better than Abuelita to give advice about food.

When marketing to Hispanics the first thing one learns is that there is no single Hispanic market but in fact several. And each has its own unique culture. But the common thread that this astute marketer has realized is family hierarchy and Gramma's place in it – especially when it comes to food.

Pitching the culture instead of the brand is what Europeans and Asians do. Branding that uses a testimonial to endorse the benefits of the brand is brand building. The audience is receptive to the message from Abuelita. This is branding at its best where the brand makes associations with the consumer at an emotional level, and we know that this target consumer is receptive to. Instead of trying to pitch something foreign to the target consumer, the marketer here has found something that the target is receptive to for brand promotion.

Then the crack about the foodstuffs themselves. Let me state with certainty: THERE IS NO BAD FOOD, ONLY BAD DIETS." In this case Gramma was advocating a convenience food that kids love to eat. No one is saying that the consumer should eat this product for every meal. All nutritionists recommend a wide variety of foods that combine to make up a balanced diet.

So in this case Abuelita is right on, offering a suggestion for an American favorite a long standing favorite of kids. And guess what, it's easy to prepare as well.

To the chagrin to U.S. food marketers is the reluctance of immigrants to give up their traditional diets avoiding American convenience foods. This fact is why the promotion was needed in the first place. The trend in U.S. food stores is convenience, one that began with frozen foods in the thirties and continues to grow to every section of the food store. Food marketers have lost dollars to fast food operations since the sixties. The best defense against that attack has been convenience foods and snacks. But everyone in the business believes in a nutritious, varied and balanced diet – or else they wouldn't be in the food business.

So Abuelita is welcoming Hispanics to the American realities of convenience foods that have kept pace with America's busy lifestyles. As a food marketer I would say that this marketer is right on target with a message that builds the brand using an icon that the target audience is receptive to. So enhorabuena (congratulations).

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By Edwin | San Diego, CA September 13, 2007 08:49:56 pm:

I'll tell ya how to sell Oreo's. Old school meets new school.

Set some Mexican sweet bread next to some Oreo cookies at a family gathering. Grandpa/Grandma will be obviously more inclined to reach for the bread (traditionally) but the grandchild (age 7-12) reaches for the Oreo's. Observes child enjoying cookie a la Oreo. Child strikes curiousity with Grandparent and grabs a cookie to try it. Then indulges in cookie just like grandkid.

New school influences old school when it comes to a product that is more American than Latin/Hispanic.

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By GUSTAVO | MIAMI, FL September 14, 2007 05:35:42 pm:

Abuelita is in the room. So are the Mexican sombreros, the "banda grupera" music and never forget to throw in some soccer balls here and there for added impact. There you go, a HISPANIC-PROOF campaign that will resonate with the Latino consumers. Or so Univision make us believe.
But, have you ever wondered why is it that the advertising created in Spanish-speaking countries such as Spain, Argentina or Mexico (where the Latinos we target in the USA are from BTW) is not solely focus on Abuelitas, Soccer and Mariachi(or Tapas and Flameco)?
Do you think they dance tango and eat meat in every Argentinean spot? Do they share family meals with abuela in every spot in Puerto Rico? The answer is a resounding NO.
Advertising in those countries refers to HUMAN interactions with brands and products.Just as in the USA general market. Obviously you have to play with the cultural nuances of your audience They are fun, clever, original and less than sterotypical. And they sell products.
So why is it that every spot we create has to resemble an episode of Don Francisco? Aren't our horizons as immigrants broader than soccer, abuela and Mariachi?
It's time to leave abuelita alone, for christ sake! We know better than that. And we can compete with general market creative if given the opportunity.
I will never forget being at a big (and very American) client pitch, presenting some abuelita concepts and have the client stand-up and say: "Do you guys think we Americans don't have families and don't care about our Grandma. Cause I'm not buying those research points were Abuelita overindexes so much on Hispanics" Silence. Nervous smiles. Nodding.
I guess this is the best we can do to justify we need some budgets? Or could we do better?
It amazes me to see how little Hispanic advertising has evolved in creativity, but at the same time it is sad to see how little the media content offering has evolved.
I guess our big flaw is to be a complacent audience with no demand for quality in media and consequently the advertising we are served.

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