Of Geese, Chicken and Cojones
Thanks to a post over at AdRants, I found a story that tells the tale of how a recent Volkswagen outdoor campaign has been pulled after receiving complaints that a word used in it, “cojones,” was offensive to Hispanics.
The outdoor boards were posted in Los Angeles and Miami, and it was in the Miami neighborhood of Little Havana that the complaints originated.
Before I go on, I want to make a couple of things clear. One, it is quite important to take into account cultural sensitivities when attempting to speak Spanish to a Hispanic target (or when placing media in Hispanic-heavy neighborhoods). General Market agencies will get it wrong more often than they get it right and, when in doubt, advertisers should call in an expert to help guide their marketing efforts. And, two, Miami shouldn’t be considered the bellwether anything for what is or is not culturally applicable to the Hispanic world at large, and especially for those Hispanics who reside in the United States.
A case in point:
A few years ago, I wrote a radio spot for a client, Washington Mutual, touting one of their new products. The gist of the radio spot was that a man owned a goose which he poked, prodded and tickled in attempting to get it to lay a golden egg. It never did, so instead he availed himself to the new Washington Mutual offering and everyone, man and goose, lived happily ever after.
You can listen to the “Goose” spot, here:
The spot aired in several Hispanic-heavy markets, including Miami. Within a few days, Washington Mutual began receiving calls from Little Havana stating that the spots were offensive. What possible offense could be taken from this spot?
In Cuba, you see, geese are a rarity and, on the island, the story has been changed to become the chicken that laid the golden egg.
We used a goose instead of a chicken. That was what the callers from Little Havana found so offensive.
Never mind that to just about every other Hispanic on the planet the story is about a goose, we had to pull the spot and re-record it using the story of a chicken. Forfuckssake.
You can hear the “Chicken” version, here:
My guess is the new Volkswagen boards that will go up in place of the “cajones” board will be found equally offensive by a Cuban ex-pat living in Little Havana, despite the fact Hispanics elsewhere will find them appealing (just as, no doubt, they did the original board), and the next round will come down as well.
So, yes General Market agencies, you should watch out for cultural sensitivities when playing with Spanish but, when it comes to your sounding board, go to Miami for the sun and sand and not for marketing advice.
RespondEmail Article Sunday, March 19th, 2006 at 07:54pm Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle, Ad Nauseam, Audio, Grupo Gringo | add this post to del.icio.us
