Sophisticated TV spots wooing Hispanic voters

[JayS]

June 8, 2004, 9:20AM
Sophisticated TV spots wooing Hispanic voters
Bush, Kerry campaigns know Latinos in swing states could decide election
By KIM COBB
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2614840


The scene opens with a doting, older woman sitting at a table with her curly-headed grandson as she lovingly pastes photos of family members into a scrapbook.

"Grandma," the child asks in Spanish, "what's a Democrat?"

For the next 30 seconds, this television advertisement pitches the Democratic Party against a backdrop of strategic symbols in Hispanic culture -- family tradition, respect for the elderly, military service and educational achievement.

It's slick, entertaining and indicative of a more sophisticated approach to woo the nation's fastest-growing pool of potential voters.

Hispanics may decide the 2004 election in a handful of swing states, forcing Spanish-language advertising -- still a novelty in the 2000 presidential election -- to elevate its content and context beyond simple English-language translation, experts say.

*SNIP*