Uncovering Mexico
Jeremy Schwartz is the Mexico correspondent for Cox Newspapers. He is based in Mexico City.What's on this page?
All the entries posted on March 13, 2008.
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Home > Uncovering Mexico > Archives > 2008 > March > 13
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Mexican advertising’s blurry line
What is a hidden advertisement and what is legitimate banter on a morning talk show? Which lines of dialogue are written by the writers and which written by the advertising department? Forgive Mexican TV viewers if they get confused now and then.
It’s common practice down here for the nation’s big 2 networks - Televisa and TV Azteca - to sell undercover advertising within their popular telenovelas and talk shows. The ads aren’t labeled as such. A talk show host might begin a rant about a certain product or two lovers on a soap opera might suddenly begin discussing a particular candidate.
The latest example involves Pemex, Mexico’s struggling nationalized oil company. The state-owned company recently bought some ad time on at least four programs, several of which are kind of like “The View” or a lighter “Today” show. Earlier this week, the hosts suddenly began talking about the need to do more deepwater oil exploration. On Vecinos, a comedy, modernizing oil extraction became the subject of dialogue.
These were no innocent asides. The theme of Pemex’s modernization is perhaps the most controversial topic in Mexico right now. President Felipe Calderon’s conservative government would like to see some kind of foreign investment in Pemex to give it the funds and technology it needs to get at deepwater oil deposits. The Mexican Left has opposed anything that smells of privatization and claims the company can find the funds it needs if it cleans up corruption. Later this month, Calderon is expected to introduce his version of Pemex reform.
One advertising expert said Pemex executives were trying to lay the groundwork for the reform with the messages. “They are trying to win over the audience before it enters into the legislative debate,” Rafael Garate told the El Universal newspaper.