Some of that comes from the leadership of Marissa Solis, senior vp, global brand and consumer marketing at the NFL. She has spearheaded outreach efforts to the Latinx community, as well as women, to help grow the fanbase. She championed last year’s Super Bowl spot that featured Diana Flores, a former ballet dancer-turned-flag football quarterback.
“It does take leadership at the senior level to break the systemic bias. And we had such crazy accolades for that [Super Bowl spot]. And we’ve seen perception of the NFL increasing year over year,” Javier Farfan, culture marketing strategist at the NFL, told ADWEEK last year.
For the brands that choose to advertise on Univison’s broadcast, Kozack said they will extend their consumer reach, because they’re seeing the importance of leaning into the Latinx audience.
“When you’re in-language, it does build meaningful connections. And ultimately, that culture connection will help drive business outcomes for them,” added Kozack.
The brands and spots
Brands that will be a part of the Univision broadcast with Spanish-language spots are TurboTax, Totino’s, Metro by T-Mobile, Nissan and Total by Verizon. The broadcast will also feature ads from Audi, BetMGM, Experian, DraftKings and Volkswagen.
Total by Verizon hopes to inspire Spanish-speaking game watchers to switch to one of its service plans in a new campaign from Ogilvy. The brand chose to advertise on Univision because the Latinx segment makes up a large portion of its consumer base.
“Seeing that TelevisaUnivision is the No. 1 network in the U.S. for Latinos, we knew there was no better place for Total by Verizon to begin to grow our connection than in its first-ever national broadcast of the Big Game,” said Cheryl Gresham, chief marketing officer of Verizon Value.
The creative was directed by Fred Armisen, whose mother is Venezuelan and is fluent in Spanish, and there is a surprise cameo from Guatemalan actor Arturo Castro, plus several other surprises, according to Gresham.
The commercial brings back 1990s Latin dance music with a new take on hit merengue song “Suavemente.” In the “Totalmente” campaign, created by Ogilvy New York, the tune becomes about the perks of having a Total by Verizon wireless plan, but with a nostalgic nod to the Elvis Crespo original.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with such a great brand that sees culture and consumers as they really are—where the minority is becoming the majority—and that Total has chosen this moment to celebrate Latin culture in the way it’s intended,” said Darla Price, president of Ogilvy New York.
