• by Karl Greenberg , April 10, 2009

Tecate, the Mexican cerveza brand and division of FEMSA/Heineken USA, is launching a new ad campaign that depicts Americans who have immigrated north from Mexico as iron-willed men "con caracter" who work hard to take care of family, even when family is back home.

The effort, via New York-based Adrenalina, extends Tecate's "Con Carácter" platform launched last year with four to six 30-second spots that feature tableaux of Mexican Americans hard at work. The ads show men working construction, farming, ranching, in kitchens, in a meat freezer, and even boxing (in the case of a spot that shows Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera knocking a guy out). They also show men standing up in unison on a bus to let an elderly lady take a seat, and sending money home.

As the scenes roll, the voiceover (in Spanish) sets the tone with colloquial phrases like "Por los que no tienen pelos en la lengua," ("For those who aren't afraid to tell it like it is) or "Porque no estamos todos los que somos, pero somos todos los que estamos," ("Not all of us are here, but the ones that are here really matter)" to define the Tecate brand and, by extension, its consumers, who are at a working-class bar at the end of the spot, raising cans and bottles of Tecate in a cheer.

Carlos Boughton, brand director of Tecate, says the effort represents Tecate's largest media buy to date. He says the new campaign evolves the "Con Caracter" campaign, but also beefs it up. "Everything that worked for us in 2008 we are keeping; the use of [colloquial] language, the power, the balance of emotion and a little humor as well," he says. "But we have made the vignettes more dynamic and engaging, and we changed the music, and it all helped in making it better."

The ads are running on Spanish-language networks like Univision, Telemundo, Azteca America, Galavision, Telefutura, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. A :60 radio spot describes Tecate but plays on disclaimer sections of ads with the message that Tecate discourages men who lack character from Tecate, and that you can tell if you haven't got the cojones for Tecate if you have such traits as owning dogs named "Puchi," "Tinkerbell" or "Princess," or calling their girlfriends "Baby" or "Little Smurfette."

Radio spots will run on national and regional Spanish-language networks such as Univision Radio and Lieberman Media. MediaVest handles Tecate's radio, TV and out-of-home.

Boughton says that while the campaign is thematically focused on Mexican Americans, it appeals to all Hispanic Americans; thus the national media buy. He says the ads have broad appeal among Hispanics because, while some may not get the regional humor or the colloquialisms, they get the message. "What we weren't expecting, and what we found is that even for people who don't necessarily understand it. When we showed the ads to Puerto Rican Americans or Dominicans, they say 'I don't get [the jokes] but I get what you are saying, and I respect that.'"

Tecate's U.S. distributor -- White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA -- also handles Dos Equis, Sol, and Carta Blanca. Boughton says Tecate appeals to a different market than Heineken's other cervezas like Dos Equis. "Something we are careful about is how we target each brand and try to make the brand specific to a consumer target." He says, for instance, that Dos Equis is targeted to the general market with a positioning against those who lead an active, fascinating life.