For an ad that never ran on TV, Latinos for Reform’s just-stay-home, Latino-vote-discouraging TV ads have gotten an awful lot of ink. In the opposite corner, though, are an avalanche of public service announcements that encourage exactly the opposite. Here’s our guide to picking the right one for the people in your life:
For Mami y Papi
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)gets out the old-school crowd to enrage and inspire. If your mom can’t get enough of Gloria Estefan and Andy García, here’s the ad—in English and Spanish. Just hope they don’t ask you how Paulina got mixed up in all of this.
For Your Totally Technophobic Tío
This is the guy that never even learned to use a VCR, much less how to hunt things down on YouTube. Play him “Respecto,” a song recorded specifically for this election by the Grammy-winning band Ozomatli and call it a day. You can download the song here.
Your Spanish-only Tía
No worries, Telemundo and Univision have her covered. Both have unveiled campaigns that will run from now until election day. They’re a little earnest—but you knew that already.
For Your Sister in Boston
This entry from Voto Latino is the Barack Obama of PSA’s: It goes light on the outrage, doesn’t use the H or L words, features a multiculti cast of celebs, and signals its provenance subtly, as with a single mention of the word “immigration.” If people are always telling her “I didn’t think you were Latina!” she might really relate to this one.
For Your Activist Cousin
Also from NCLR, these ads don’t pull any punches, noting proposals to place landmines on the border and a politician’s suggestion that undocumented immigrants be implanted with microchips “like he does to his dogs,” as one narrator says. Don’t show it to anyone with anger management issues—it might push them over the edge.
For Your Do-Nothing Brother
The title says it all: “Don’t Be A Cabrón—Vote.”
Seen any other great ones? Let us know in a comment and we'll add them on.
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