For Chispa and Buchanan’s, Spanglish Is a Gateway to Connection

On the surface, Chispa, the Match Group-owned dating platform targeting U.S. Latines, and Diageo Scotch whisky brand Buchanan’s appear to come from two different worlds.

However, for their new campaigns, both brands are speaking the same language—Spanglish—and to the same audience: bicultural U.S. Latines known as “the 200%,” who identify as 100% Hispanic and 100% American.

The language of amor

In Chispa’s first-ever brand campaign, titled “Fluent in Amor,” various Latinx singles and couples experience “butterflies” while getting ready for a first date, searching the app for a match, learning to dance together and being introduced to a partner’s parents.

Made by creative agency Majority and director April Maxey, the spot shows how the couples are not unlike those portrayed in most mainstream dating platform campaigns aimed at American audiences. Yet added elements such as the meeting of family and the narration, which seamlessly glides back and forth between Spanish and English, give a distinct nod to the Hispanic heritage they are equally proud to represent.

The ad punctuates the message that 200%ers, who have spent their lives adeptly coexisting within two cultures, understand love in any language.  

“No matter what you speak or how you identify, the language of love transcends all,” Julia Estacolchic, senior brand director at Chispa, said in a statement. “We created this anthem to capture the authentic romance of two worlds coming together without inhibitions.”

The campaign will comprise TV, digital, social activations and out-of-home ads in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, an area with a large population of young Latinx singles. For the spot, the brand partnered with influencers including beauty and fashion influencer Daisy Marquez; actress, singer and advocate Amara La Negra; life coach and RuPaul Drag Race Pit Crew member Bruno Alcantara; and Gen Z content creator Pau Torres. 

“Our Latine team members took great personal pride in the opportunity to create at the intersection of love, culture and heritage,” said Jorge Hernandez, founding partner and chief marketing officer at Majority.

A toast a la vida

While Chispa’s campaign addresses the love life of 200%ers, Buchanan’s aims to serve libations while helping them create their own holiday traditions.

“We Are the Spirit of 200%” includes is a live-action collage blending older traditions rooted in Latinx culture with modern American twists—such as picking up store-bought pasteles while listening to bachata, mixing whisky with coquito, and pouring a glass of Buchanan’s from a bedazzled bottle. 

Created by agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad features copy inspired by Elisabet Velasquez’s poem Can I Be a Puerto Rican?

Its cast of Hispanic American creatives includes Daniel Buezo and Debbie Gonzales, founders of apparel brand Kids of Immigrants; New York-based cultural archivists Djali Brown-Cepeda and Ricardo Castañeda; Dallas-based DJ and music curator DJ Vrywvy; and comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Marcello Hernandez. 

“As a proud Cuban-Dominican raised in Miami, it’s important to me to use my platform to highlight the 200% experience,” Hernandez told Adweek.

The brand will also host local events and giveback initiatives throughout the holiday season. The Family Cena, Vibra Buena 200% Dinner Series will be co-curated by a local chef and feature the campaign’s cast. Meanwhile, the 200% Family Meal Giveback Program is part of the brand’s 200% Futuro Fund and will provide meals to service industry professionals. 

“This campaign is meant to honor the 200%ers across the U.S., who are always finding unique and authentic ways to make Buchanan’s Whisky a part of their celebrations,” Josh Dean, vp of Buchanan’s Whisky North America, said in a statement. “That’s why we collaborated with our familia of 200% trailblazers to really showcase how diverse Hispanic Americans are and shining a light on these new traditions being created across communities.”  

Authentic connections year round

According to a Pew Research report shared by Chispa, more than 27 million Latines identify with more than one race in 2022—up from 3 million in 2010. 

The Hispanic population has become one of the fastest growing in the country. The U.S. population grew by 24.5 million from 2010 to 2022, with Hispanics accounting for 53% of this increase.

To put it simply: The 200%ers are here, and they want to be courted. 

Estacolchic told Adweek that Chispa’s commitment to celebrating bicultural U.S. Latines and helping them make meaningful connections through their cultural experiences informs every aspect of the app.  

“As a community, we’re constantly going between both our Hispanic culture and then wanting to really be embraced as Americans, especially now where there’s a massive cultural crossroads happening,” she continued. “With the ‘Fluent in Amor’ campaign, it was important for us to find connectivity—the balance between uniqueness, but also what connects us all.”