Tamal? Con Pepsi, ta’bien.
I’m corresponding with an ad major from the University of Texas, David Wen (who has a blog, The Ranch), and he brought up a Pepsi spot he’d seen.
The spot, “Tamal,” is one of the first spots I did at Dieste after joining the shop and it won a sprinkling of awards. (My second Pepsi spot, “Taco Stand,” sent me to Cannes.)
“Tamal” is one of the few Pepsi spots I’ve done that was meant to air in Spanish 100% of the time, and was created back when the Pepsi strategy was Pepsi + Food = Good. The copy at the end of the spot is a nice double entendre in Spanish.
A tamal, of course, is another word for tamale (and also the singular of tamales). “Tamal” is also a shortened, slanged-up word meaning “it’s bad,” as in “está mal,” just as “tabien” is a shortened, slanged-up word meaning “it’s good” (está bien).
Here’s the spot– it’s a for-client-approval-only copy (the only one I could find on my computer, since the spot was completed in 2002 or 2003, I forget which) that has a rough V.O. (my agency partner at the time, Jaime) and an English title card at the end— but you’ll get the point.
Jaime Andrade (the same Jaime that just won at FIAP) and I get CD credits, Francisco Cardenas gets a CW credit and Jose Suaste (again, from FIAP) gets the AD slot. The music is “Guajira (I Love U 2 Much)” by Yerba Buena (”good herb”).
As a tiny bit of ad trivia, “Guajira” (which is slang for “hot girl”) wasn’t my first choice of tracks for the spot. My first choice was actually Manu Chao’s “Me Gustas Tu,” (”I like you”), a track you can find sitting at #32 on the Music for Monkeys playlist. Manu Chao is a hella-good artist, with emphasis on the “art” part. He’s the former vocal lead of the French Punk rock band, Mano Negra– “black hand”– (you can find a Mano Negra track sitting at #1 in Music for Monkeys). French Punk, by the way, is way different than what you might be accustomed to; I blame it on the tasty, bourgeois rillettes.
I knew better going in– given his Punk rock background and his anti-commercial P.O.V., but I had to try to get “Me Gustas Tu” anyway because it was just so perfect for the spot. Long story short, Manu Chao wouldn’t even return my calls. Oh well. Still love his music. (There’s a third track of his sitting at #29, recorded with the French Punk group Noir Desir (”dark desire”).)
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the spot and thanks to David Wen for reminding me of it.
Edit: I’ve found the for-air version of “Tamal.” It’s a larger file (18+ megs).
This version has final picture, sound and VO in place (sorry, Jaime).
Email Article Sunday, May 7th, 2006 at 10:32am Mack Simpson
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Technorati Tags: Pepsi, Tamal, Manu, Chao, Yerba, Buena, Guajira
4 Comments Add your own
1. makethelogobigger | May 7th, 2006 at 11:13 am
I NEVER got chicks like that when I ate tamales. Guy was probably a copywriter.
;-p
2. Mack Simpson | May 7th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Yeah, it’s true, we have a way with the ladies.
3. David Wen | May 8th, 2006 at 1:00 am
I love the music on your blog. Would you happen to have a copy of “Taco Stand?”
Copywriters have a way with the ladies because they have a mastery of words.
Or that’s my theory anyway.
:-)
4. Mack Simpson | May 8th, 2006 at 11:15 am
I’ll have to dig it up– possibly rip it off a DVD– as it was produced in 2004. I’ve got a radio interview stored somewhere, too, where I sleepily discuss the spot (the interview took place at 6:00 AM Chicago time when I was out in L.A. on another production, and I don’t do very well when I have to get up at 3:30 in the morning). I’ll look for it as well.
Your theory about copywriters is a good one; it takes mad communications skills to get to the pillow-talk stage.
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