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¡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.

 

 

 

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Culture is a minefield. Tread carefully.

June 16, 2010
By Prisma News
Category:

“It’s just a t-shirt design, what’s the big deal?” Perhaps that’s the thought that ran through the head of the t-shirt designer, whose design became part of a World-Cup inspired product line at Target stores. Or perhaps the designer didn’t give it any thought, considering that the shirt simply features “Spain” along with a Spanish flag graphic.

Only it’s the wrong Spanish flag. The flag of Franco‘s Spain, to be precise. And that’s a problem.

Target has since apologized for the oversight and says it is pulling the shirts from its stores. This is oddly familiar to an incident in 2006 at Wal-Mart, where a blogger discovered a t-shirt that featured a skull icon that belonged to the Nazi “Totenkopf” SS Division.

Odds are, neither Target nor Wal-Mart actually designed their t-shirts in house, but they definitely assumed any potential liability, not the least of which is negative PR.

The lesson in all this is to remember that culture is more than the written or spoken word and encompasses such diverse things as colors, sounds, flags, images, maps, icons, music and pop-culture references. To communicate safely and effectively, we can’t rely on our own limited frames of reference but need to verify our assumptions with cultural experts and global communication professionals.

(via Agency Spy)

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A worldly cup

June 08, 2010
By Prisma News
Category:

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted this year by South Africa, begins on Friday. In case our American readers have any illusion, this is a really huge deal. The World Cup is hands-down the most-viewed sporting event in the world. This year, some 30 billion viewers are expected to tune in to watch the 32 qualifying teams play a total of 64 matches.

What else do you need to know? Well, the tournament kicks off on Friday with a match between South Africa and Mexico. And on Saturday, the U.S. takes on England, in what promises to be a spectacular game. In the U.S., you can watch the games on ESPN. If you’re the betting type, then you’ll be interested to know that early odds are on record-5-time champion Brazil to take home the FIFA World Cup trophy.

Below, links to some articles that explore the multilingual aspects of the World Cup:

 

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