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Mexicans speak Spanish also and Mexicans are here by far the largest group here illegally and many if not most don't speak English. Gee, I wonder what group Target was trying to appease?
Mexicans speak Spanish also and Mexicans are here by far the largest group here illegally and many if not most don't speak English. Gee, I wonder what group Target was trying to appease?
NONE, it's just a catchy tune, why are you reading this much into it?
OMG, I just realized....when I was in the supermarket the other day, they had frozen burritos on sale.....it IS a conspiracy!!
What would it matter if it were targeted towards Mexican Americans? What's the big deal? We have a lot of Asians in my area. Sometimes commercials are targeted toward them. Why care?
You and I both know why they get their panties in bundles over this. As I've pointed out many times, right near me are people who fly their Norwegian flags, no US flags, on their lawns, speak Norsk and make a big deal of eating Norwegian food on the weekends. No one says a peep about it. That's because they're whiter than white. When it comes to brown people doing similar, it's an entirely different story. This garbage is so entrenched, some of them don't even realize it. I suspect Ivory is one of these folks. She leads an upper middle-class existence in a bit of a cocoon. I've known plenty of people like this.
We never learned it in school. We didn't sing it on the playground. We did, however, sing a song with the opening words, "Dos y dos son cuatro" which was a song about learning to count..... in Spanish! In the early 1960's. In a school jammed with little, white, blonde kids whose parents voted a flat Republican ticket.
Dang. It's just flat-out depressing to learn how freakin sheltered and small-minded so many Americans are.
So I'm small minded to want to have commercials that air in my country make sense in my language???
If the target audience recognizes the song as a nonsense song and associates it with positive events (Alouette - childhood....the macarana - weddings, etc, etc, etc...) then they will associate those feelings with your store. Hence the use of silly songs from our childhood all the time in advertisments and even songs from the radio when we were teens. They want you to say "Oh I remember THIS" and have the association be positive. So yes, a song in another language that I recognize as a silly song does not create the same issue as a song that is not widely known whose lyrics I cannot understand because they are not in my language.
Using songs, sung or otherwise that we associate with positive events has long been done in advertisement because it works. Target's Alouette commercial worked just fine because we associate the song with childhood. We don't question whether it has anything to do with the commercial because we recognize the song and know it doesn't. The macarana or the chicken dance would have worked the same way whether the lyrics were in english or not or whether or not there even were lyrics (I don't think I've ever heard the macarana in English.). Picking an unknown song and having the lyrics be in spanish is the problem. I have no way of figuring out the intent of the song. Is it giving details of the sale on Friday? Or is it just background? I'm left guessing hence no positive association with the music, the ad and the store. Just confusion. They would have done better to have left the lyrics out. Then there would be no second guessing whether what was being said had to do with the subject of the commercial if they were going to pick a song not widely known.
(I don't think I've ever heard the macarana in English.).
But we see you're OK with "The Macarana". As I suspected you danced to it at weddings, oh if only we had that on You Tube....LOL.
Did it ever occur to you that people who are under 30 probably haven't heard or know "The Macarena"? The song was popular in 1994, we're talking almost 20 yrs ago.
That Target went with a newer song as this ad shows younger people. That it this add is more about reaching a certain age group rather than an ethnic group?
Personally, I welcome every chance to be exposed and to expose my children to another language.
Yeah, sure. Spanish is want you mean though, right? Where would your kids use any other language but Spanish in this country? It's the only one being shoved down our throats.
You and I both know why they get their panties in bundles over this. As I've pointed out many times, right near me are people who fly their Norwegian flags, no US flags, on their lawns, speak Norsk and make a big deal of eating Norwegian food on the weekends. No one says a peep about it. That's because they're whiter than white. When it comes to brown people doing similar, it's an entirely different story. This garbage is so entrenched, some of them don't even realize it. I suspect Ivory is one of these folks. She leads an upper middle-class existence in a bit of a cocoon. I've known plenty of people like this.
Nope on all counts. It's a language issue, plain and simple. I like to actually understand the commercials that air on my TV. I don't care if it's arabic, greek or spanish they're airing commercials in. This is an english speaking nation and I kind of expect the commercials to be in English.
Yeah, sure. Spanish is want you mean though, right? Where would your kids use any other language but Spanish in this country? It's the only one being shoved down our throats.
I don't like having anything shoved down my throat.
I have encouraged my kids to learn a second language. I think it's a good thing. I just don't want it shoved at me as if I'm the one who moved to a foriegn country.
Most Mexican-Americans know how to speak English. One has to know English to become a citizen of this country. So why would they target them in Spanish?
You're assuming immigrants want citizenship. If you have your landed immigrant status and don't want to give up your old citizenship, you have everything you need to work. It took me awhile before I decided if I wanted dual citizenship and I didn't have to give up citizenship to go for it.
Yeah, sure. Spanish is want you mean though, right? Where would your kids use any other language but Spanish in this country? It's the only one being shoved down our throats.
What? This makes no sense.
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I don't like having anything shoved down my throat.