• by Larissa Faw , September 30, 2015

Latinos remain underrepresented in the advertising industry -- despite the fact these 55 million individuals wield $1.6 trillion in consumer spending, according to The Latino Spring panel at Advertising Week. 

"Right now Hispanic equals illegal and there is a negative association with it," says Valdez Productions' Jeff Valdez. "Even when [MSNBC's} Rachel Maddow does a nice story there will be images of people climbing over fences." 

There's little question that perceptions about Latinos are mired in stereotypes and ignorance. "Whenever they want to reach Latinos they put up a piñata," says Columbia University's Frances Negron-Muntaner.  

J Walter Thompson’s Gustavo Martinez adds: "Even inside the company, I often have to tell people that in Argentina and Mexico, we speak different languages. I had my colleagues come to Medellin Colombia and they thought they were going to be killed. Thanks to all of the movies and reports, but nothing happened. People are narrow-minded. The U.S. is [one of] the biggest countries in the world. Open your mind and you will embrace amazing things."  

Martinez hopes he can ignite change now that he is Worldwide Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He believes a growing diversity of backgrounds of race and gender will help to produce better outcomes when facing challenges. "This is a missed opportunity. I am the first non-Anglo-Saxon [CEO of a major mainstream ad shop] and I approach things differently. We have passion and bring different ingredients to the mix,” says Martinez, adding that he isn't afraid of pushing the line. "I hate the politically correct America. Let's be more honest."  

Still, he has his work cut out for him in changing perceptions. There is a lot of misinformation around who Latinos are and what they represent. Just because they are of one culture doesn't mean they live and breathe al things Latino. "We are simply people who straddle two worlds," says WCBS journalist Lynda Lopez. "I say I am a New Yorker and American but my spiritual home is Puerto Rico. It is a fused identity." Latinos typically don't like products that scream "Latino" in overt ways, Lopez said. “They don't want to see a man wearing a sombrero. They aren't going to love something or someone simply because they share the same ethnicity.” 

It is also important for advertisers to address their Latino targets’ different immigration experiences, especially in light of the political storm over illegal immigration. Not all Latinos are immigrants, notes Valdez. "We live in Beverly Hills but my son asked me if Donald Trump was going to deport him. I told him, you were born in Santa Monica. Are they going to send you back there?" he quipped.