9746: Denny’s Latest Comedy Killer.

Advertising Age reported on Denny’s latest effort to woo Latinos with a campaign created in conjunction with comedy site Funny of Die. Based on the videos, this endeavor definitely falls into the “Die” category.

Denny’s Partners With Dog Whisperer and Funny or Die to Connect With Hispanics

Campaign Targets Restaurant’s Fastest-Growing Consumer Base

By Maureen Morrison

Though many would be surprised to hear Denny’s and Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan uttered in the same sentence, the two are teaming up for Denny’s first Hispanic branded-content effort.

The move is part of the chain’s initial branded-content effort aimed at Hispanics, and is its first work by new Hispanic agency Casanova Pendrill, which partnered with lead agency Gotham for the effort. Dubbed “Skillet Whisperer,” the video is a spoof on National Geographic Wild’s reality show “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.” On the show, Mr. Millan works with owners of aggressive dogs and teaches them how to display their dominance to calm the animals.

In “Skillet Whisperer,” which has English- and Spanish-language versions and was produced by comedy site Funny or Die, Denny’s limited-time-offer Sizzling Skillets take the place of dogs, and Mr. Millan is called upon to tame skillets that are described in a voice-over as “too aggressive to enjoy.” The Spanish version is on YouTube and the English one is on Funny or Die; both will be promoted through a social-media push on Denny’s and Mr. Millan’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Denny’s CMO Frances Allen said the campaign was intended to connect with Hispanics, Denny’s fastest-growing customer base. “We thought it was time to engage a little more with [the Hispanic] audience,” said Ms. Allen. “This year we’ll be making a concerted push.” The Hispanic campaign is part of Denny’s ongoing “America’s Diner Is Always Open” platform, introduced in January 2011. From January through October 2011, Denny’s spent $55.2 million in measured media; the chain spent about $71 million in 2010.

Bringing in Mr. Millan to do a spoof on the Dog Whisperer was the idea of Casanova Pendrill, which won Denny’s Hispanic account in September. In addition to seeking someone unexpected for the Denny’s brand, “we were looking for someone energetic and who would connect with English-speaking Latinos but also the Spanish-preferred Latinos,” said Ingrid Otero-Smart, the agency’s president-CEO. “He has a really great connection with our target.”

The two versions have separate casts because “we wanted to make sure it was authentic,” Ms. Allen said. Mr. Millan’s 13-year-old son is featured in the Spanish-language version.

Mr. Millan has done other sponsorships, including deals with Swiffer and Best Western, but this is his first restaurant sponsorship. Part of the appeal of this project was that Denny’s is a brand everyone recognizes, it ties in naturally with family and the script was humorous, he said. “People are already familiar with Denny’s,” he said. “My goal for this joke, in a way, is to create communication and to create engagement.”

Also part of “America’s Diner Is Always Open” was Denny’s first foray into branded-content territory, “Always Open,” a talk show that ran on IAC’s College Humor last year. Aimed at millennials, the show was written and produced by DumbDumb, a company founded by actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett with help from Interpublic’s Gotham.

The current push is Denny’s first work with Funny or Die on branded content. Chris Bruss, head of branded entertainment at Funny or Die, said that the video strikes a balance between content and advertising. It also isn’t too product-heavy or trying to mask the branding altogether.

“What is strong about this video is that the whole idea is based around the world of Denny’s,” Mr. Bruss said. “It takes place in a Denny’s, and it’s about a Denny’s product. There’s no pulling the wool over the audience’s eyes.”

Ms. Allen said that “branded content has done well for Denny’s. Our job is to entertain [consumers] in a way that’s relevant for the brand. … It’s important that we find new and interesting ways to connect.”

There are no immediate plans to make the spots into a series, but Mr. Millan said he’d be interested in the opportunity—as long as it’s something that carries on with new content so that “people don’t get bored.”

9740: Tecate Mimics General Motors…?

Advertising Age reported Heineken’s Tecate consolidated its U.S. advertising account with an agency in Mexico. ¡Ay Caramba! Last week, General Motors consolidated its $3 billion media and planning duties with a U.K. firm. Now Tecate has pulled a similar move. It’s outrageous! Scandalous! Oh, wait a minute. Tecate yanked its billings from a faux Latino shop backed by a White agency in New York City? Um, never mind.

Tecate Consolidates U.S. Advertising With Mexican Agency

Cost-Cutting Move Follows Other Global Consolidation Efforts

By E.J. Schultz

In a cost-cutting move, Heineken’s Tecate beer brand is moving U.S. advertising from Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners’ U.S. Hispanic unit Ramona to its longtime Mexican agency, Olabuenaga Chemistri, the brewer told Ad Age.

The consolidation means all Tecate and Tecate Light U.S. advertising—including digital—will be run from south of the border, an unusual arrangement for a brand sold in the U.S. Tecate, a Mexican import, was already an oddity among advertisers for focusing its entire U.S. account on the Hispanic market, particularly Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans. However, the brand lately had been testing a limited number of English-language ads.

It is the loss of a key account or Ramona. The agency did not return a call for comment this afternoon. Olabuenaga Chemistri, on the other hand, gains its first foothold in the U.S. market. The agency, based in Mexico City, has experience with several high-profile accounts, including work in Mexico for Bacardi and General Motors, as well as Mexican milk brand Leche Lala.

While Heineken’s push for global synergies drove the move, Tecate considered the creative consequences, said Tecate VP-Marketing Felix Palau. “If we found out there was any risk in switching to a single creative approach coming from Mexico, we [were] not going to conduct [the] move,” Mr. Palau said. “But that was not the case.”

Indeed, Heineken reviewed new proposals from both Olabuenaga Chemistri and Ramona before making the switch, he said. Under the new arrangement, the same Spanish-language ads will air in Mexico and the U.S. But Olabuenaga Chemistri will also create English language ads to air in several U.S. markets in the Southwest.

Tecate is the fourth-largest U.S. import behind Corona Extra, Heineken and Modelo Especial, according to 2010 rankings from Beer Marketer’s Insights, the latest available. But the brand has been slipping, with grocery-store sales down 8.38% in the year ending Dec. 25, according to SymphonyIRI, which excludes Walmart Stores and liquor stores. Heineken USA spent $17 million in measured media on Tecate and Tecate Light in the U.S. in 2010, according to Kantar Media.

Ramona has had Tecate since 2007, when it was called Adrenalina and partly owned by MDC Partners. The agency was formed specifically for the Tecate pitch and all three partners at the time had worked with Eduardo Casas, the then-Heineken USA executive leading the review. In 2010, the agency was absorbed by MDC Partners sibling Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners following the departure of the last of Adrenalina’s three founders, Manuel Wernicky. Adrenalina was renamed Ramona in 2010 when Sandra Alfaro, a management partner and director of account management at Vidal Partnership, was hired as general manager.

Under Ramona, Tecate last year sought to expand from its traditional base of new U.S. immigrants to more acculturated Hispanics by adding humor to its ads.

Going forward, Tecate will keep its “con caracter” tagline, which positions it as the drink for men “with character,” Mr. Palau said. But ads will be tweaked to ensure they work in Mexico and the U.S. For instance, U.S. ads now tend to overtly play up Hispanic notions of character that Mr. Palau said even border on U.S. stereotypes of Hispanic men. “This new campaign and this new creative approach doesn’t necessarily talk about the difference between a Hispanic manifestation of character and a more universal manifestation of character. Now we are talking to a broader base of Hispanics [so] it’s less relevant to say ‘I’m Hispanic.’ The fact that Tecate is a Mexican beer and they will see Hispanic talent in the ads, that’s more than enough.”
The agency switch follows other maneuvers by Amsterdam-based Heineken to seek synergies. In November, the brewer launched a review to consolidate its global media planning and buying under one shop, pitting roster shops Starcom MediaVest of Publicis Groupe and WPP’s Mindshare against each other. Heineken has also streamlined procurement. And last year it appointed independent shop Wieden & Kennedy as global creative agency for its flagship Heineken brand.

Olabuenaga Chemistri is co-owned by Ana Maria Olabuenaga and Jorge Cuchi, who is the chief creative officer. The agency has a partnership with Publicis Groupe that gives it access to some of the company’s resources, including agencies such as Leo Burnett Hispanic shop Lapiz, which is based in Chicago. Olabuenaga Chemistri is said to be considering hiring people from Ramona to help service the account, and might keep some presence in New York.