Fox Promos Target Latinos

With three shows featuring Hispanics on its new prime time schedule, Fox is pushing for some extra publicity in the Spanish-speaking world.

Coming this fall, Fox has Luis, The Ortegas and Skin on its schedule. While comedies Luis and Ortegas feature nearly all-Latino casts, Skin, from prolific executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, features one main Latina character, the wife in a mixed marriage and a high-level judge in Los Angeles.

To get the word out about the shows, Fox has hired Reyes Entertainment, headed by Gabriel Reyes, to promote the programs within Latino communities.

Fox says that, while it is taking the opportunity to reach Hispanics, it didn't schedule the shows with that intention. "We're a broadcaster, so you want to reach the broadest audience," says Joe Earley, senior vice president of publicity and corporate communications. "Our audience is largely composed of young people who have grown up in a diverse world. We like to be relevant and reflective of the world they live in."

Fox's shows go after different Hispanic audiences. In Luis, for example, Luis Guzman plays a Puerto Rican small-business owner in New York City. The Ortegas, starring Cheech Marin, is a comedy about a Mexican-American family living in Southern California's San Bernadino Valley. So Reyes plans to market Luis heavily in New York, while stars from The Ortegas are likely to appear at such events as Mexican-American festivals around Los Angeles.

"Latinos use a lot of outdoor [billboard advertising] and radio," Reyes says, "and grassroots and word-of-mouth are important within Latino communities. I'll be promoting the shows at Latino festivals and events, so Fox can brand these shows in the communities where they live."

Reyes also translates all of Fox's press materials about the shows into Spanish and distributes them to Spanish-language press. And he works with Spanish-language outlets to showcase Fox's Latino stars.