¡Los links!

June 20, 2010
By Prisma News
Category:

If you’ve been anywhere near a TV recently, then odds are you’ve seen one or more of the “Los Links” commercials for Microsoft’s search service. The campaign spoofs Spanish-language telenovelas, or soap operas. So, is Microsoft crazy targeting mainstream America with Spanish-speaking actors and English subtitles? Or is there a method behind the madness?

 

 

Rumor has it that this campaign is actually an attempt to woo Hispanic Millennials. According the Target Latino blog, Hispanic Millennials make up more than 20 percent of the overall Millennial population and skew quite differently than Hispanic Baby Boomers or Gen-Xers in their cultural sensibilities:

“A distinguishing characteristic of multi-ethnic Millennials is their heavily “second generation” orientation… They are more likely children of immigrants than immigrants themselves… Perhaps more astounding is the casual mix-and-match cultural sensibilities of Millennials. Not content to cleave to any single ethnic or cultural influence, they are free to engage in the variety with no restrictions.”

This might explain the use of “los links” instead of the more correct “los enlaces.” Bing, it seems, is reaching out to Hispanic Millennials in their native language: Spanglish.