To ensure that most vulnerable Latino populations receive vital public health advisories about COVID-19, d expósito & Partners developed a Spanish-language Public Service Announcement or PSA that is currently running on CNN en Espanol, Telemundo and Univision via its campaign dubbed, "Lucha vs. El Virus." ADWEEK has reported that the video's accentuated English version "just got picked up by CNN and NBC."

The videos feature superhero-like wrestlers, also called "luchadores," that perform professional wrestling in Mexico known as "Lucha Libre." The audience see the luchadores, in the video, wearing masks as they perform.

Double Meaning of 'Lucha'

In Mexican professional wrestling, betting is sometimes done over the fighters' masks. If a wrestler is unmasked, it typically means what ADWEEK has described as his "retirement from the sport."

d expósito & Partners COO, Paco Olavarrieta said, they were "playing the Spanish word lucha's double meaning." One of which means to struggle or fight. It is also symbolically used as an expression of one that is working hard or carrying on in the fight.

The other meaning is that, embedded in the Spanish term, "lucha libre," where performers or luchadores are wearing masks to conceal their real identity.

This is an opportunity Olavarrieta said, they saw, to influence the cultural vision "to remind Hispanics" to stay in the fight." He also said that as in this kind of Mexican sport, the wrestler who loses his mask loses his fight, as well.

Inspired by What's Missing

This spring season, d expósito & Partners founder and CEO Expósito-Ulla watched while the COVID-19 pandemic prompted public health PSAs, as well as the concerned advertisements that offer reassurance for their brand.

However, she noticed, one thing was missing: not much information about COVID-19 was translated in Spanish. "On the Hispanic Side," she said, the viewing public is not getting much.

Essentially, Latinos have been greatly affected by COVID-19. Based on the latest data, as of this writing from COVID Racial Data Tracker, Latinos seem to have excessively higher rates of COVID-19 than projected across Washington D.C. and 42 states. In several states, the same data showed that the figure is "as much as four times" more significant.

Expósito-Ulla also explained that, in general, communities of color, as well as the Latino community, have turned out to be essential workers. She also noted that "Hispanics overrepresent in farm work, the service industry and other low-income works that are unlikely to provide an opportunity for the employees to work safely from home.

Be a Luchador for a Day

Also featured in the campaign is an amusing AR filter that can be accessed through Facebook and Instagram. It allows an individual to be a "luchador" for a day.

The agency posted a short video on Instagram o Thursday featuring an employee explaining that "masks should be worn," whether one is going to the grocery store or a walk, off to work or out to join the protests.

Also, in early April, d expósito & Partners collaborated with the Ad Council to assist in the translation of its PSA dubbed, as #AloneTogether or "Quedate en Casa" in Spanish.

The said translation was shared on social media to extend the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC to Americans who are Spanish-speaking.

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