Cox Communications has been in the bizservices
game since 1993 — but it’s not afraid of being associated
with dinosaurs.
The MSO, to raise the profile of its
billion-dollar business services division,
earlier this month launched an ad
campaign featuring major U.S. landmarks,
such as the Hoover Dam, narrated
by actor Sam Neill.
Neill, of course, is the New Zealand
actor best known for his leading turn as
paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in 1993’s
Jurassic Park. Cox seems to have been
drawn to his gravitas and mellifluous
accent. Neill is “a compelling spokesperson
who embodies the intelligence,
confidence and trustworthiness of our
brand,” Cox senior vice president of
brand marketing, advertising and social
media Joe Rooney said.
The three TV spots in the “Landmarks” campaign show
the Hoover Dam, Golden Gate Bridge and Northern California’s
Muir Woods to connote the “flexibility, strength and
reliability” of the Cox Business portfolio of telecommunications
services for business customers. According to Rooney,
the “stunning backdrops” effectively communicate “our key
attributes in a memorable way.”
The first ad, with Neill atop the Hoover Dam, began airing
in Cox markets nationwide this month on a variety of broadcast
and cable networks. After noting the gigantic dam can
support the weight of 9 trillion gallons of water, Neill implores
viewers to “choose a partner who is able to support
you in every way: Cox Business.”
The spots were directed by Jesse Dylan, son of singer/
songwriter Bob Dylan. The other two ads will air in Cox
markets in April and June. The campaign, which also includes
print and online assets, was produced by Southfield,
Mich.-based ad agency Doner. Cox declined to disclose the
amount it was spending on “Landmarks.”
Cox Business, formally established in 2000, now provides
voice, data and video services to more than 260,000 small
and regional businesses and least year generated more than
$1 billion in revenue.
‘Family Game Night’
On Hub Opening Up
To More Families
Margaret Loesch figured “family game night” was a great
idea — otherwise she wouldn’t have borrowed it from WalMart and Hasbro.
Loesch, CEO of The Hub, the kids’ network joint venture
of Hasbro and Discovery Communications, noticed the
game maker and retailer were sponsoring nights where
families would get together and play Monopoly, Sorry! and
Yahtzee.
Hasbro agreed that it would make a good TV show on a
network focused on kids and families watching together.
Now, Loesch said, she wants to help viewers get onto
the Friday-night competition show, the subject of most calls
and e-mails to the network.
For now, they can’t. The first season, now 18 episodes
into a 26-episode run, features contestants who were cast
in Los Angeles.
When the show, as expected, returns for a second
season, The Hub will have figured out a way for families to
apply to take part in the four-on-four rounds of Twister, Bop
It! and Scrabble to win prizes, Loesch said.
She also answered The Wire’s first question: The families
don’t all have to be two parents and two kids. Aunts,
uncles, cousins and grandparents qualify.
Non-Hasbro original games also will join the mix, she
said. No monopoly, there.
Latino or Hispanic?
Either Term Works,
But Avoid ‘Hispania’
Latino or Hispanic:
What is the preferred
nomenclature when referring
to the fastestgrowing
segment of
the U.S. population,
now totaling about 50
million people?
Telemundo chief
operating officer Jacqueline
Hernandez addressed
the issue last
week in presenting
new proprietary research the network group released
concerning “GenYLA,” or young Latino Americans in the
marketer-friendly 18-34 demographic.
Her take: Both terms are acceptable. Telemundo
uses them interchangeably.
The Wire prefers Hispanic, because it is gender neutral
and because the contrasting term non-Hispanic
looks more correct than non-Latino, somehow.
Hernandez did make us think about Hispanic, though,
when she pointed out Spanish speakers in the United
States “don’t live in a third world called ‘Hispania.’ ”
Telemundo’s YLA research indicates 74% of young
Latino Americans speak both Spanish and English on a
daily basis. And 48% say their friends are an equal mix
of English and Spanish speakers.
YLAs are experiencing a wave of “retro acculturation,”
Hernandez said, or identifying with the culture of their
families’ country of origin.
Partly that’s to feel a sense of connection with their
roots, but partly it’s because, “let’s face it, it’s very cool
to be Hispanic,” she said.
Mark another vote for Hispanic.
Busy Yara Martinez
Offers Proof Latinas
Are Hot (and Cool)
A&E Network’s new drama series Breakout Kings features
one of the busiest actresses in cable television
today, Yara Martinez. The Puerto Rico-born actress
plays the wife of Breakout Kings’ star Laz Alonso, who
leads a unique U.S. Marshals/convicted felons group
who hunts down fugitives
on the run.
Martinez also has a
recurring role in TNT’s
drama series Southland
and recently appeared
in an episode of NBC’s
Law & Order: Los Angeles.
She says she’s
seen a steady growth
of television roles for
Latina actresses since
she first broke onto the
television scene in the
mid-2000s, with guest
roles on such shows as
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
and The Unit.
“I definitely feel like
there’s more roles
available for Latina actresses
these days, and sometimes those roles are not
necessarily written for a Latina, but then I will audition
and they change it to represent a Latina,” Martinez, who
counts actress Salma Hayek as a role model, said. “I
definitely think it’s grown and there’s a bigger demand,
which is nice.”
She wants to continue to portraying Latina characters
that are “more three-dimensional” than what’s typically
seen on TV.
