Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

language broadcast, print and other media." FACT: Spanish cuhure, of which the Spanish language is an integral part, is remarkably durable. Homeoriented, it resists change mightily, in the opinion of those familiar with the Spanish-speaking U.S. market. Spanish is a sort of Esperanto of the Western Hemisphere; in California, for instance, 98 percent of schools teach it. Since it is less of a "foreign language" than, say, Danish, and since it is not particularly a factor for social discrimination, there's no innate push on the part of Spanish-speaking families to get rid of it, and it is passed from generation to generation. Certainly, many who originally spoke only Spanish become bilingual. But it is regarded as a social or business skill, like learning to play a piano or operate a turret lathe. Furthermore, Spanishspeaking Americans often "cluster" in communities and on the job. This further preserves the language. English-language media do reach the Spanish market, and Englishlanguage radio and tv do have some impact. But advertising media are generally part of the framework of "leisure time," and when the pressures are off in Spanish-language homes, Spanish is the household language. (A Pulse checkup in New York recently, where over a million people speak Spanish, showed that only 7. 8 percent spoke only English at home and three out of four consider that advertising in Spanish has more meaning to them.) Many agencies feel, because of strong saturation of radio and tv sets in Spanish-language U.S. homes, that generul-maiket broadcast commercials get through. They often don't — even in families where English is fluent. FALLACY: "There's no real problem in reaching the Spanish-language market. Spanish is Spanish. You just translate your copy and commercial into Spanish and place it in the right markets." The Spanish-language 'brand switching phenomenon' Among Spanish-language migrants to the U.S., a curious phenomenon takes place. There is a genuine, recognizable drive to "Americanize" themselves, in terms of products, goods and services. Brands which may have been popular in households in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, etc. are shoved aside in favor of U.S. brands, with much of the switching guided by Spanish-language air media. A good case in point is India Beer, an extremely popular brand in Puerto Rico, where it has 47 percent of the beer market and rival Schaefer has a mere 1 percent. When a Puerto Rican makes the jet hop (some three hours) to New York, the situation reverses overnight. Although India Beer is distributed in New York City, and is currently promoting a 25th anniversary heavily, it has only 1 per cent of the New York Puerto Rican beer market, while Schaefer has 38 percent. Cerveceria India, Inc., has taken the hint, now pursues Puerto Rican families in New York via spot radio campaigns and print media. Other Spanish-type brands, such as Cafe Bustello (bought not long ago by Nestle), hold their high market positions only with heavy Spanish media use. lA CERVEZA DE PUERTO RICO FACT: It's true that the basic i. written language has little variance in Spanish-speaking areas. A resi dent of San Juan or Mexico Cit} has no great trouble in making himself understood while visiting Madrid, just as New Yorkers can somehow communicate to their cousin« in London. But there are definite regional accents and local peculiarities in the language which can aid. or hamper, a radio-tv campaign in Spanish. A Puerto Rican adman. Premier Maldonado, a vice-president of Gotham-Vladimir, points out "a marked difference between the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico and , the Spanish in other Latin American countries and Spain." For one thing, a lot of English ("windshield wiper," etc.) has crept into the Puerto Rican vocabulary, and many generic items (such as auto tires) have a different name in Puerto Rican Spanish. In Texas, and along the border into California, the influence is Mexican Spanish. It is a self-perpetuating influence, too. since some 250,000 tourists a year come to the United States from Mexico, not to mention visits by Mexican-Americans to what many consider their real homeland. (A veteran station rep in the Spanish field puts it this way: "When a Mexican-American in Texas speaks of the capital of the United States, he says 'Washington.' When he speaks of 'the capital,' he means Mexico City.") In Florida cities such as Miami and Tampa, the big influence today is Cuba, thanks to the great influx of refugees from the Castro regime. However, this is an overlay upon the basic cultural structure of Spain, as handed down by descendants of original settlers from Cuba in the early 1800s and the Basque country of Spain. In short, you can't just have a commercial translated by someone knowledgeable in the language. In addition to missing out on the particular sales approach of strong local personalities, you may run afoul of local vagaries or accents in Spanish. A few large stations, such as San Antonio's KCOR and New York outlets WHOM, WADO and WBNX, and such specialized commercial production houses as New York's The Latin Sound (along 38 SPONSOR