What does it mean to be a modern Latina?
For the three women featured in Procter & Gamble‘s “I am a modern Latina” campaign, it means claiming space as a strong, successful woman who celebrates and values her cultural roots as essential to her identity.
P&G created a video for the campaign to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15), which honors the histories and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. The video aims to encourage Latina women living in the U.S. to be proud of their bicultural status.
“There’s a large group of Latinas in North America, about 15 million, who are bicultural,” said Lindsey Erdahl, communications manager of Orgullosa, P&G’s online platform for Latina women. “They are women who have lived in the United States long enough to have a firm grasp on these traditional American norms, but they also have these deep roots in their Latino culture.”
Orgullosa, which means “proud” in Spanish, launched in 2011. The initiative encourages bicultural Latina woman to “connect, share and inspire each other” via an online community and social campaigns.
The “I am a modern Latina” video is part of P&G’s five-part series and online campaign for Hispanic Heritage Month called #InspireOrgullo (“Inspire Pride”) — an effort created to further Orgullosa’s mission of supporting Latina women who proudly claim their success and culture.
“We know that sometimes toggling between those two worlds gets a bit complex … and there’s a little tension there. By creating the ‘I am a modern Latina’ video and the Hispanic Heritage Month series, what we are saying to them is, ‘We get it,'” Erdahl said.
Valuing culture as important to a Latina woman’s experience and identity is often ignored in advertising. Orgullosa’s campaign looks to challenge the ad silence around cultural diversity, recognizing Latina women having experiences worth celebrating.
“It’s all about being the nueva Latina — this new definition of what Latina is in this blended culture,” Erdahl said. “Their life is as unique as their upbringing, and they don’t need to play by a certain set of rules.”
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