Reminiscent DoorDash advertisement, aimed at Latino consumers, falls short of resonance
Rewritten Article:
Feeling Deflated by a DoorDash Ad
On a Tuesday, during the halftime of the second leg semi-final UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Inter Milan, I found myself feeling quite disappointed. Instead of marveling at the soccer action, I was hit with an ad that dampened my spirits.
In the commercial, we witness three multigenerational Latino families passing by a restaurant. The parents, Gen X or millennials, and their children, clearly Gen Alpha, ask if they can stop for food. With a firm "no, there's food at home," the parents reject their kids' requests. However, when they finally reach their houses, the ad reveals the "food at home" was actually DoorDash food that they had craved from the restaurants they drove past.
This ad, which was launched by DoorDash specifically for Latino consumers last November, is far from new. It's aired quite frequently during soccer matches, and it's become instinctive for me to brace myself each time it comes on. The insidious part is that it inadvertently burrows itself deeper in my mind with every airing until I eventually get angry enough to write about it.
According to AdWeek, the commercial is designed to provoke a sense of nostalgia among millennial and Gen Z Latinos. It's a clever marketing move - just look at how eager we've been to buy concert tickets for acts like Los Bukis or RBD, or to snap up Selena Quintanilla merchandise, from makeup to Funko Pop figurines to a creepy AI-assisted record. The market for nostalgia is absolutely booming, and it seems Latinos are no exception.
(No, we're not the only ones susceptible to this phenomena. A quick glance at When We Were Young festival attendees or anyone drawing fashion inspiration from Y2K trends will confirm it.)
The phrase "hay comida en la casa" is the heart of this ad. For many children of immigrants, this phrase represents a battle cry for frugality and frugality was something our cash-strapped parents took very seriously. I don't claim to know the true depth of our parents' aspirations to save money, but it felt more like a philosophical stance than practical economics.
However, in DoorDash's version of this phrase, the sentiment is completely lost. The nostalgia of the original saying lies in the home-cooked meals our parents made for us, not on the restaurant food we missed out on. Convenience is nice, but it shouldn't come at the expense of our identity and connection to our heritage. As if corporations saw the opportunities in the collective purchasing power of Latinos, reduced our culture to a lowest common denominator, and sold it back to us in the form of tokenistic fan service.
It's been said that we might be in the minority feeling irked by this ad, but it's possible that DoorDash has improved its profit margins through this strategy. Maybe I'm just an aging millennial inching dangerously close to "Old Man Yells at Cloud" territory.
And if that's the case, perhaps the food delivery app company should co-opt another popular Latino internet meme for their next marketing push. Why not "DoorDash: delivery that's faster than a flyin' chancla!" I bet people would love that.
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Most Powerful Pope in the World
On Thursday, the College of Cardinals decided that quite possibly the most powerful person in the world, Pope Leo XIV, would be the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Hailing from the U.S., the 69-year-old Pope Leo XIV, of the Order of St. Augustine, is only the second American pope in history and the first to have been born in the United States.
From Peru, Pope Leo XIV spent over two decades conducting missionary work before becoming a naturalized citizen and being appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, one of Peru's largest cities in 2015. In his inaugural address from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the soon-to-be pope stated, "Greetings ... to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith."
Our prayers and congratulations go out to our fellow De Los colleague Gustavo Arellano, who was named a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. To the readers familiar with his work,Rest in peace, Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21.
Los Kings of Urban Music
Fuerza Regida and Ivan Cornejo made a big splash on Monday evening, each performing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," respectively, for Cinco de Mayo. It's undeniable that these two acts, both popular in the urban music genre, have a great deal in common. Both are based in San Bernardino, both are gracing our screens with their performances a week since the release of their latest albums, and both have a substantial Latin American fanbase.
Without a doubt, the fervor surrounding these artists is a testament to their talent and the strength of the urban music genre. If you weren't already a fan before, you owe it to yourself to watch their performances and give these Latino kings of urban music a listen.
- The commercial, originally launched by DoorDash last November, airs frequently during soccer matches, causing me to brace myself each time it comes on.
- The ad aims to provoke a sense of nostalgia among millennial and Gen Z Latinos, capitalizing on the booming market for nostalgia.
- The phrase "hay comida en la casa" is central to the DoorDash commercial, but for many children of immigrants, it represents a deeper connection to their heritage, not just frugality.
- The ad's version of the phrase loses the sentiment of home-cooked meals, replacing it with the notion of convenience food.
- This ad strategy, reducing Latino culture to a lowest common denominator, seems to be a corporate tactic to tap into the collective purchasing power of Latinos.
- It's said that some might find this ad amusing rather than irking, but DoorDash's profit margins may have improved with this approach.
- Perhaps DoorDash could use another popular Latino internet meme for their next marketing push, like "DoorDash: delivery that's faster than a flyin' chancla!"
- Pope Leo XIV, the second American pope in history and the first born in the United States, was chosen as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday.
- Born in Peru, Pope Leo XIV spent over two decades conducting missionary work and became a naturalized citizen before being appointed Bishop of Chiclayo in 2015.
- In his inaugural address, Pope Leo XIV expressed his love and gratitude towards his diocese of Chiclayo in Peru.
- Our colleague Gustavo Arellano was named a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in commentary, and our prayers and congratulations go out to him.
- On Cinco de Mayo, Fuerza Regida and Ivan Cornejo made a splash by performing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," respectively, showing the strength of the urban music genre.
- These Latino kings of urban music, both based in San Bernardino and with a substantial Latin American fanbase, have a great deal in common, including the release of their latest albums a week prior to their performances.
