Conservative ads in Spanish tell a different story to Hispanics

Washington Times ^ | 8/9/2012

[Altura Ct.]

Polls show President Obama holds a clear advantage among Hispanic voters this year, but a new Spanish-language television ad, running in Nevada and sponsored by a conservative group, aims to peel away those supporters by arguing that his administration set records for deporting illegal immigrants.

It’s a message that could backfire if it were in English — deporting illegal immigrants is a popular stance in many conservative communities. But English-speaking voters likely will never see the ad, which is running on two major Spanish-language networks in Las Vegas.

The Hispanic ad market is one of the least-studied but among the most important in politics.

“Our goal was to come up with an ad that would really engage Latino voters and make them think,” said Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Values, which is affiliated with Nevada Hispanics, the group running the ads.

Mr. Aguilar said Mr. Obama has not lived up to campaign promises to sign legislation granting illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. The ad says the president is not interested in Hispanic issues and “only wants our vote.”

[Altura Ct.]

...But language adds another wrinkle because it can send a message to one community without necessarily reaching the broader voting public.

The Spanish-language ads also fall outside of some disclosure requirements, such as the new rule that requires the major networks in the country’s top 50 markets to post all ad contracts online. Those rules don’t apply to Spanish-language networks, even though in cities with large Hispanic audiences such as Los Angeles and Miami, the English-language networks regularly trail their Spanish-speaking counterparts in ratings.

[freekitty]

Where’s the ad?

[MarkL]

I hope the story these Spanish language ad includes Fast & Furious, and the Mexican death toll.

Mark

[WaterWeWaitinFor]

When you need every vote, let's get down and get er done. I'm OK with this tactic to help us win. Yep - thrown in the info on the Fast and Furious. Let's win this election first and foremost.

My theory on these illegals is that IF they broke the law to get here they should never, ever be eligible for citizenship. yeah, yeah... speaking out of 2 sides of my mouth. After the election let's chat again.

[newzjunkey]

The ad says the president is not interested in Hispanic issues and “only wants our vote.”

How would this backfire if in English? It's true.