Tom Whitehurst

Big stars, big breakthroughs

‘The Brothers Garcia’ is significant because the program depicts Hispanics ‘as Americans, not foreigners,’ says Lionel Sosa, a San Antonio ad agent known nationally for his insight into Hispanic marketing.

Lionel Sosa has witnessed, and participated in, significant change in Hispanic marketing and mass media trends in his more than three decades in the business.
   Twenty years ago, the largest Fortune 500 companies might spend $3 million a year on advertising targeted to Hispanics, he says. Now, they spend in the $60 million range, and the accounts from smaller companies these days aren't small.
   "It is not unusual for Hispanic advertising agencies today to get RFPs (requests for proposals) for $25 million accounts," says Sosa, a San Antonio ad agent widely acknowledged as a pioneer in Hispanic marketing.
   Ten years ago, he says, it was unheard of for financial institutions or makers of high-end products such as luxury cars to market to Hispanics.
   The media stars
   Ten years ago, the biggest media stars were not Hispanic. Sure, Edward James Olmos was respected, but his influence on the general audience didn't approach that of Jennifer Lopez, Antonio Banderas or Christine Aguilera today.

Three of the biggest names in pop culture are (from left) Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera. In a survey of 8-year-old girls, Aguilera tied for No. 1 as the person they’d most like to be like.

   Sosa cited a Sesame Street survey of whom 8-year-old girls would most like to be like. Aguilera and Britney Spears tied for No. 1.
   That's a significant amount of influence, but among the most significant milestones that Sosa has observed is the "Brothers Garcia" sitcom becoming Nickelodeon's top-rated show. He sees it as more noteworthy than the phenomenal growth of Spanish-language networks because it's a show "depicting Hispanics as Americans, not as foreigners."
   One thing that unfortunately hasn't changed, he says, is the movie and television stereotypes of Hispanics as drug dealers. In 1985, there was "Scarface" and most recently it was "Traffic" and "Blow."
   'Still the bad guys'
   "We're still the bad guys. The inspirational Latino movies are so few," he says. "The 'Stand and Delivers' and 'Selenas' come out once every five years and the ones that have us as bad guys come out several times a year."

Sosa

   Sosa strongly believes that significant change can be achieved through mass media marketing, and not just because it pays his rent. He believes that it can achieve much more than selling consumer products, as he told those who attended the Corpus Christi Hispanic Chamber of Commerce banquet Wednesday.
   Successful effort
   He has been personally involved in a successful mass marketing effort to raise college enrollment at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio. He thinks it can work on a much larger scale.
   "If Nike can convince an urban kid of the lowest economic status to buy $110 shoes, you can convince people that they need to go to college. We will have to sell education just like Nike sells shoes, just like Coca-Cola sells soft drinks."
  
  
  

Business editor Tom Whitehurst Jr. can be reached at 886-3619 or by e-mail at whitehurstt@caller.com

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