What do you think of the commercial on ESPN, for "Jack in the Box", entirely in Spanish?

There are classes, and even free ones where you can learn Spanish.

@jaytkay What is wrong with English?

I did not say anything is wrong with English.

What’s wrong with catering a commercial to your intended market? Nothing, that’s what. It’s no different than making a Star Trek related commercial in Klingon. Well, it is different because in that case we wouldn’t have assholes running around acting like racists just because someone spoke a different language.

Don’t worry. They probably don’t want you as a customer any how.

You do know that America has no official language, don’t you?

@NSA Of course I know that, but if 96% of the population speak English, why would they spend that kind of money to do a commercial in Spanish only?

You were watching NASCAR on ESPN? Ahh…I see.

They’re spending the money because their research shows that enough people who speak Spanish would be watching the race.

why would they spend that kind of money to do a commercial in Spanish only?

Is that your business, how they spend their money? Are you a communist?

Maybe it was an advert for English lessons. Not every advert is aimed at your demographic, and apparently this one wasn’t.

@ALL So sorry, I thought I was communicating with respectful, intelligent, adults. MY BAD. It is just a question, no reason for hatred.

My TV has a way to set it so that all the programs are in Spanish.

@RANGIEBABY this is an example of why I put all my questions in General – no off topic or insults allowed

@YARNLADY So if you set your programs to Spanish, then you expect to have it in Spanish right? It was such a surprise, I had never seen that before, and wondered if my husband had hit that button for Spanish. But, he said no he didn’t. I am not saying it is a bad thing, I am wondering if anyone else would be surprised or put aside, with no English in the commercial at all.

Things are very different since I left and come back, so perhaps I should do that. I heard personal attack were not allowed anymore. I am not stupid, I can read between the lines of some of these smart folks.

@RANGIEBABY I used to see commercials in Spanish when I lived in Texas, but haven’t seen any since moving to Louisiana. I guess it just depends on who they are marketing to as stated above. I think it’s kind of cool and would love to see other languages represented on the regular stations. It was a suprise to me at first, too. It’s not like it’s something that is seen everyday (although maybe it should be).

@KhiaKarma Thank you for your intelligent answer. That is the type of communication I was looking for.

I had no idea that Jack in the Box was so popular among the Hispanic demographic…

….or any demographic. :-/

I think it’s quite a smart marketing technique. There are a a whole helluva lot of Spanish speakers in this country and if I was one of them, I would be more likely to patronize an establishment that was making itself known to be friendly and welcoming to people whose first language was not English.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Agreed, it is not exactly the greatest food around. All of those fast food places taste and smell the same. I much prefer my own burgers at home.
But, even as @KatawaGrey says, it is a smart marketing technique, they could have included English somewhere.

I would be really impressed if they had a commercial spoken in Esperanto

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Yes, but would you even know it?

@RANGIEBABY, maybe, Esperanto is a pretty recognizable language. It sounds like the bastard child of Spanish and Norwegian. It’s a really cool language too. Too bad it never really took off…. I’d learn it.

Hey, this is just another business that is catering to the illegals. they have to eat, too.

@john65pennington: Ah, yes, because as soon as a Spanish-speaker becomes a citizen, they forget the entire language and their kids never learn it either.

@RANGIEBABY: I’d be willing to bet that all the other commercials you saw in that same period of time was in English. I’m just curious, why does this bother you so much?

Lo ignoro.

But I definitely, emphatically agree with @theichibun. If you complained about all ads targeted specifically toward women, that would be sexist. It seems to me complaining about an ad because it’s targeted to a different ethnic group than your own would be called bigoted.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard actually jack in the box is a lot popular for example in mexico north, because here is common to find mcdonalds, carls jr, wendy, and many american brands, but if you want a jack in the box you have to go to u.s.a., and in away that make them feel as eating different things, but i also think homemades are better

@KatawaGrey almost all son of spanish speakers talk spanish

.. btw, the commercial is really funny

@max_gutierrez: I know, that was my point. @john65pennington seems to think anyone who doesn’t speak English all the time is an illegal alien who’s taking away American jobs and destroying society.

@KatawaGrey I was not watching the TV, but I heard that commercial and it caught my attention because it was in Spanish. I did not say it bothers me, I said perhaps they could have said something in English so the English only could hear what they were selling. Perhaps a new sandwich, but I don’t know because I could not understand. I know when I am in Mexico, I carry a translator with me so I can TRY to speak Spanish. I do not expect them to understand my needs in English.
@ETpro There you go again, presuming what I am doing. I only wondered why those of us that do not speak Spanish, were not addressed as well, since the major language spoken in the USA is English.

@RANGIEBABY: I would think there is a commercial exactly like the one you saw except it is in English. This way, they maximize the number of people who want to eat at their establishment. Personally, I am always thrilled to find a business that caters to a wide variety of people. I fit quite neatly into the English-speaking WASP population, but my cousins are half Cuban and a number of my friends are Spanish speakers as well as English speakers so I’m glad to see that they are being catered to as well.

@RANGIEBABY Running the voice track in two languages would double the ad’s length, and thus cost. They already advertise widely to English speakers. They are just trying to reach out to another major demographic in the US. And by the way, I did not presume what you were doing. I said that complaining about ads being run in a language other than your own would be bigotry. As far as I know, you weren’t complaining about it, you just asked how we we all felt about it. So the comment wasn’t meant to be directed at you, but if you thought the shoe fit, then give the possibility some thought..

@KatawaGrey i agree on the marketing thing (actually, everything that would go on a commercial is for marketing) , it’s like idk, maybe an “unreal” example was millions of japanese wathcing a commercial in japanse saying things about japan they would love it ;

BTW, i THINK the commercial have subtitles

@ETpro and @KatawaGrey I think @KhiaKarma had the best answer of all and I agree with her.
I used to see commercials in Spanish when I lived in Texas, but haven’t seen any since moving to Louisiana. I guess it just depends on who they are marketing to as stated above. I think it’s kind of cool and would love to see other languages represented on the regular stations. It was a suprise to me at first, too. It’s not like it’s something that is seen everyday (although maybe it should be).

@RANGIEBABY Yes and a GA to @KatawaGrey for that thought.

@all Thanks everybody, it has been interesting and if there is any further posts, I will read them tomorrow. Need to go to bed. :)

is it me or do people automatically get branded a racist/bigot here on fluther when topics like this come up? That’s a pretty heavy word still, to be throwing around or…...the tactic is so overused it has finally lost its meaning?

@woodcutter It’s you. I don’t believe anyone in this thread labeled anyone else a bigot. We spoke of a particular behavior as being bigotry, and it is.

@ETpro I believe woodcutter was referring to this part of your post: It seems to me complaining about an ad because it’s targeted to a different ethnic group than your own would be called bigoted. Well, it does appear to be calling me a bigot. When as I said, my complaint was based on the fact that I could not understand anything and in a country where the majority speak English. The fact that there was absolutely no English, not even subtitles. But that is okay, all of us read things in a different way, and we can’t read the minds of the Questioner.

@RANGIEBABY That was about a behavior, not a person here. Your question did not complain about the ad, it merely asked us what we thought of it. Again, I was not calling anyone a bigot, I was pointing out that a certain behavior is an example of bigotry. Wouldn’t you agree that doming KKK garb and burning a cross in the front yead of someone is an act of bigotry?

been on these liberal love mattress q&a sites long enough to know what is just below the surface when speak like this happens. You know it’s true

@woodcutter Careful. You are wielding the sword of Damocles there.

@ETpro I must admit, I did think you were calling me a bigot. But the more i thought about it, It really doesn’t matter. I have been call worse and I know who I am and what I feel and think, so what someone else thinks doesn’t really matter. But, i think I understand what you are saying and I think we are all grown up enough to handle others interpretations the way they see it. I know what I know, and you think what you think. I am okay with that.

@RANGIEBABY You’re OK, I’m OK

@ETpro thanks. I do believe we are acting like adults. Just what I always want to be when I was little. :)

> I would be really impressed if they had a commercial spoken in Esperanto

Not sure if you’re referring to Jack-in-the-Box, or any company in general. If the latter, Michael Jackson’s HIStory promo video, a form of advertisement, had its spoken dialogue done in Esperanto (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpTFa-wGc4 ). A commercial done by Littlewoods Direct of the UK uses a sort of (incomprehensible) pseudo-Esperanto (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhIJH56YIWE )

> Esperanto is… a really cool language too. Too bad it never really took off…. I’d learn it.

Actually, it has taken off. At about 2,000,000 speakers scattered around the world, and almost 125 years old, it’s perhaps not high-altitude flight, but it’s definitely sustained flight – and it’s rising. If you’re interested, http://www.lernu.net has great free self-study learning resources, including courses of varying levels. http://www.ikurso.net also has a free multi-media beginner’s course.