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Betty Crocker goes bilingual

17:15 H | Topics: Bilingualism - Food - Marketing

Betty gets sabrosa:

Betty Crocker may be the first lady of the American kitchen, but will she succeed as la gran dama de la cocina latina?

General Mills, the brand's owner, and John Wiley and Sons, its exclusive book publisher, are betting she will.

In August they published Cocina Betty Crocker: Favorite American Recipes in Spanish and English. The book prints traditional American recipes such as apple pie and sloppy Joes side by side in the two languages. Next to instructions for Macaroni and Cheese, are directions for Macarrones con Queso.

Betty says she out to help Latinos adapt to a new life in the U.S., where they are faced with daunting new vegetables and cuts of meat (yeah, we all need a little help figuring out what a Sloppy Joe is), but critics find a more self-serving motive:

"Cocina Betty Crocker is a corporate marketing tool by General Mills to get Latinos to stop making tortillas and arepas and get them to make Bisquick biscuits," she says. (Bisquick is a General Mills product.)

Of course it's marketing. Everything is.

According to Encuesta's Americanos Poll, with regard to "marketplace strength" of brands among Latinos:

Some common household brands are surprisingly weak among Hispanics. For example, Campbell’s, Pillsbury, and Betty Crocker are each over 50 points weaker among Hispanics than non-Hispanics.

The data talks and marketers respond to that. They are in the business of reaching markets, not public service. To question motives is almost asinine. And to suggest that these companies' Latino would believe that they are out to "help" Latinos first and foremost is beyond naive.

Via/ The Sun-Sentinel and Hispanic Tips

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