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Puerto Rican Day Parade June 13, 2011
In another recent article on our very own Reach Hispanic, we saw Sofia Vergara utilize the power of social media in her TV ad for Pepsi. Earlier this month, another display of social media´s power could be seen in the reaction to MillerCoors’ “Emboricuate” campaign. Protestors claim that the campaign, through a play on words, equates “becoming Puerto Rican” with “getting drunk.” Whether or not the campaign intended to make such a connection is irrelevant; the point is, that is how members of the very audience it was targeting perceived it. This elucidates some of Hispanic Marketing´s dangers.
The NYC Puerto Rican community´s reaction to the campaign showed a united online community with a message. On June 2, 2011 MillerCoors decided to take down the “Emboricuate” campaign because of the outrage being voiced through various social media including Twitter and Facebook. Based on such online protests and the fact that the National Puerto Rican Day parade was just one week later, the company decided to remove the ads from the streets of NYC.
This is just another signpost that advertisers need to be as cautious as ever. Consumers are actively involved in the messages they are receiving and armed with the tools to affect change.
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