New Political Ads by Marketing Expert Luis Aira Target Latino Youth

Los Angeles, CA October 20, 2004 -- As Election Day nears, a new PSA campaign strikes emotional chords with Latino voters and encourages them to participate in the political process. At a time when many critics and political pundits continue to point to this electorate group as a possible deciding factor in this year’s race for the White House, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project’s youth initiative (SVREP) hopes to ultimately motivate millions of previously “disconnected” voters to vote in record numbers on November 2nd.

“Finally, the Latino electorate is getting the attention it deserves in a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate fashion,” says Producer/Director Luis Aira. “By developing a campaign that addresses both Spanish-dominant and English-speaking Latinos, we’re tapping record numbers who are tuning into this election and promise to play a pivotal role in its outcome. It’s very rewarding for us to have contributed through the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and helped educate millions of Latinos on the importance of realizing their collective influence this election season.”

SVREP’s groundbreaking “Don’t Be Invisible” PSA campaign was spearheaded by political activist and acclaimed producer/director Luis Aira, of Ofrenda, Inc., a nationally recognized multi-cultural marketing and broadcast production agency, and Mark González, a principal at 28 de Enero, an advertising agency. Currently airing on Univision, Telemundo, MTVLatino, Mun2, Entravision and SiTV owned and affiliate television and radio stations across battleground states, the bilingual PSA campaign features Alma and Imagen Award-winning actor Esai Morales as fictional presidential candidate Victor López. The cornerstone of SVREP’s youth initiative, the “Victor López for a New America” campaign was developed to motivate, as well as educate, the Latino electorate on their collective power and potential to significantly influence the outcome of this year’s Presidential election. At face value, the television and radio spots are a call to action for Hispanics to pursue the “American Dream and the promise to get it back.” At a much deeper level, the spots reach out in a compelling and emotional fashion, something which neither Party has been able to do in a meaningful way, and close with the sobering fact: “Victor López does not exist. He never will unless you vote. Don’t Be Invisible!”

As the creative force behind SVREP’s national media campaigns over the past decade, Aira and González also co-wrote and created the “Rock the Vote” Hispanic media spots “Body Count” and “Hope” featured on MTV in 2000; both were directed and produced by Aira. As a creative team they developed the 1996 “Come Together and Vote” campaign featuring Edgar James Olmos, Hector Elizondo and Culture Clash. Aira’s credits also include directing “Faces of America” for the Gore Presidential Hispanic media campaign in 2000.

About Ofrenda, Inc.
Ofrenda, Inc. is composed of a group of highly experienced, seasoned, and qualified production professionals. With Luis Aira at the helm, Ofrenda, Inc. has been nationally recognized for their multi-cultural marketing and broadcast production work for clients such as Sears, Wells Fargo, Ikea, Boost Mobile, and Carl’s Junior. Ofrenda, Inc. brings together an international team of directors, writers, editors, and producers to form a creative production house with offices located in Los Angeles, Mexico City, Bahia, and Sao Paulo Brazil. “Our range of production media is diverse. We have produced independent features, commercials, music videos, promotional videos, and radio spots. We work in multiple formats from 35 millimeter film to high definition video and digital video formats,” said director/cinematographer Oscar Lobo. Ofrenda’s directorial roster includes Oscar Lobo, Jim Edwards, Felipe Fenton, Pico Garcez, and Jamie Toledo. Each of our directors brings a unique understanding and creative vision to each production. For more information on Luis Aira and/or Ofrenda, Inc., please visit www.luisaira.com and
www.getreel.net/ofrenda.

View: Victor Lopez for a New America and Body Count http://www.fuerzalatina.net/site/pp.asp?c=jiK0LaPLLqF&b=181914
View: Hospital www.johnkerry.com/espanol/video
View: Scrapbook www.newdem.org/hispanicproject/

Note to Editors: Acclaimed director and political activist (D), Luis Aira is available for commentary on capturing the hearts and minds of the Latino electorate.

Contact Information

Donna Casey

the Bossy

Ofrenda, Inc.

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