Missing the Message : Ad Agency Study Shows Latinos Have Unique TV Viewing Habits

Bart Simpson--one of television’s best-known brats--has a huge fan club that he may not know about: Latinos.

Fox Television’s “The Simpsons” ranked as the top prime-time, major network show among Latino viewers for the second half of the 1992-93 TV season. But the Fox show ranked only 27th among general-market viewers.

Meanwhile, CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which rated No. 1 among all viewers, placed a distant 46th among Latino households during the same period, according to a new study by the New York ad agency BBDO Worldwide.

The point is vital to major advertisers: Latinos watch very different shows from the general market. And simple mass-market advertising isn’t going to reach most Latinos. This is particularly true in Los Angeles County, where a fast-growing population of 5 million Latinos accounts for 38% of the area’s total population.

By one estimate, most Latinos--except youngsters--prefer Spanish-language shows on the cable TV networks Univision and Telemundo to the general network shows, by about 3 to 1.

Major advertisers who think they have covered their demographic bases by advertising on enormously popular shows like “60 Minutes,” “Seinfeld” and “Murder, She Wrote” aren’t even scratching the surface as far as Latino households are concerned. Neither “Seinfeld” nor “Murder, She Wrote” ranks anywhere in the Top 100 shows most watched by Latinos, the study found.

Data for the study was provided by Nielsen Media and Nielsen Hispanic Television Viewing, which this year for the first time began to keep close tabs on the TV viewing habits of Latino households.

Only one of the four major networks’ Top 10 shows most preferred by general viewers also rated in the Top 10 for Latinos: ABC’s “Roseanne.” But Fox had four of the Top 5 general-market shows preferred by Latinos, including “Martin,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and “In Living Color.”

“You can no longer say that you are reaching everybody by advertising on the Top 10 shows,” said Doug Alligood, vice president of special markets at BBDO. “You are under-delivering to Hispanics.”

Latino ad executives generally say they are heartened by the study because it indicates that Latino audiences are being taken seriously by marketers. But they also note that the best way to reach Latino households is to advertise on Spanish-language television.

“I am surprised to hear a general-market agency say words that are magic to my ears,” said Hector Orci, chairman of the Latino-owned agency La Agencia de Orci & Asociados in Los Angeles. “If you think you are reaching Hispanics by purchasing commercial time on the top mainstream shows, you are dead wrong.”

Another top Latino ad executive was equally emphatic. “You can’t do business in Los Angeles, New York or Miami without a Spanish-language campaign,” said Dolores Valdes Zacky, president of the Los Angeles-based agency Valdes Zacky Associates.

At the same time, general-market shows like “The Simpsons” and “Beverly Hills 90210” that are popular with both Latino and other audiences usually have special appeal to Latino preteens and teen-agers.

“They are the ones who cross over to the general market,” said Valdes Zacky. Telemundo and Univision--which concentrate on family programming--have few shows aimed at children, she said.

But it isn’t just Latino kids who go for “The Simpsons.” Orci, the Latino agency owner, said it is also his favorite English-language show. “ ‘The Simpsons’ shows talent and grace,” Orci said, “and it makes me laugh.”

Executives at New York-based Telemundo generally discount the popularity of shows like “The Simpsons” among Latinos. “Keep in mind, more than half of the Hispanic households are Spanish-language-dominant,” said Jon Marks, director of media and marketing at the network. “They hardly even watch the mainstream networks.”

Latino ad executives note that network news shows like “60 Minutes,” which require an extensive knowledge of English, generally fare poorly among Latino viewers. Executives from CBS, which had no shows ranked among the Top 20 major network shows preferred by Latinos, declined to comment.

Surprisingly, the three major network shows that feature Latinos in starring roles did not fare well among Latinos.

“Nurses,” which stars Aida Mares, placed 70th. “L.A. Law,” which stars Adolph Martinez, ranked 82nd. And “Golden Palace,” which features Latino actors Cheech Marin and Ricardo Montalban, ranked 107th.

“Just putting Hispanics on a show doesn’t do the trick,” Orci said. “Hispanics prefer shows with a good sense of humor but which also feature realistic characters who have real-life flaws.”

TV Favorites for Latinos

The Top 10 television shows favored by Latino viewers are very different from the Top 10 viewed by general audiences. Only ABC’s “Roseanne” appears on both Top 10 lists. Here are the Top 10 shows that Latino viewers preferred and the Top 10 shows among all viewers during the second half of the 1992-93 television season.

Top 10 Shows in Latino Households

Rank among Rank Show Network all viewers 1 Simpsons FOX 27 2 Martin FOX 38 3 Beverly Hills 90210 FOX 45 4 Roseanne ABC 2 5 In Living Color* (1st season) FOX 74 6 Fresh Prince of Bel Air NBC 15 7 Married With Children FOX 41 8 NFL Monday Night Football ABC 11 9 In Living Color (2nd season) FOX 47 10 Blossom NBC 24

*

Top 10 Shows in General-Market Households

Rank among Rank Show Network Latinos 1 60 Minutes CBS 46 2 Roseanne ABC 4 3 Home Improvement ABC 18 4 Coach**(Tuesday) ABC 19 5 Murder, She Wrote CBS 107 6 Seinfeld NBC 54 7 Murphy Brown CBS 76 8 Cheers NBC 40 9 Sunday Movie CBS 44 10 Coach (Wednesday) ABC 39

* “In Living Color” had two “seasons” during the second half of the 1992-93 TV viewing year.

** “Coach” switched broadcast nights.

Sources: Nielsen Hispanic Television Index, Nielsen Media Research; BBDO New York