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El Pollo Loco TV campaign features tales from the ‘Dark Side’

El Pollo Loco TV campaign features tales from the ‘Dark Side’

IRVINE CALIF. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The campaign is a “fantastical twist” on El Pollo Loco’s strategy for reaching the Hispanic market, chain executives say. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

That strategy taps into the way El Pollo Loco prepares its meals to duplicate the tastes Hispanics enjoyed at home as they were growing up, said Karen Eadon, chief marketing officer for the 360-unit chain, which is based here. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The new spots “reveal what happens when nice people find themselves pushed to the dark side” by their craving for the chain’s citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken, she said. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The first television spot in the campaign, titled “Abuelita” and created by Los Angeles-based cruz/kravetz:IDEAS, opens on a sweet-faced nurse attempting to feed a chicken leg to a frail grandmother in a wheelchair. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

“Wake up without the hungries?” the nurse asks as she pulls the chicken leg away and begins to devour it. The grandmother looks on, horrified. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The camera then cuts to a product shot while an announcer makes a sales pitch for a meal of seven legs and thighs for $5.99. The final shot shows the grandmother yanking the nurse’s hair as the nurse continues to eat the chicken leg. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

Each spot in the series features the tag “Qué rico pollo,” which means “that’s tasty chicken.” The tag was first introduced in 2004. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The current campaign is a shift in execution from last year’s commercials, which focused on the “sensually liberating taste” of El Pollo Loco chicken. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

“By showing nice people pushed to the dark side to keep El Pollo Loco to themselves, we were able to demonstrate in an amusing way the depth of their relationship with the brand,” said Maite D’Amico, the agency’s chief creative officer. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The agency’s creative team included Hania Robledo, who was nominated for an Oscar for his set-design work for “Frida,” and Javier Perez Grobet, director of photography for the movie “Nacho Libre.” —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

The campaign is scheduled to run until the end of the year. Fifteen- and 30-second spots will air on Spanish-language TV stations in the West and Southwest and in Chicago. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

El Pollo Loco uses a dual-communication strategy, which includes separate campaigns for the general and Hispanic markets. According to the company, the goal is to establish brand relationships with each group by using market-specific advertising that takes cultural differences into account. —El Pollo Loco has launched the first of four new Spanish-language TV spots under the theme “Dark Side” that depict the lengths to which people will go to keep the chain’s flame-grilled chicken to themselves.

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