Stephanie Jackter - 3-30-2003 at 12:42 AM
Get ready for the next commercial push. I gleaned this off Bajanet. Will eskimochas be next?:
Got Licuados? Sun, 09 March 2003 20:57
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20030309-9999_
1n9licuados.html
State group pushes Latin American treat to add to bottom line
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 9, 2003
Got Licuados?
The same group that made milk fun with the popular "Got
Milk?" commercials is now trying to persuade people to mix the
cold, white beverage with fresh fruits and ice.
The drink is the Latin American beverage known as a licuado,
and it has long been a popular item south of the border at
cafes, fruit stands and ice cream shops. In the United States,
however, few outside the Latino population have heard of the
drink, much less tasted it.
The California Milk Processor Board is determined to change
that.
To popularize the drink, the milk board invested $1.5 million
in an advertising campaign last year. It expects to spend
another $1.5 million this year, mostly on magazine ads that
feature a blender filled with fruit but no milk. The phrase
"Got Milk?" is printed on the blender's buttons.
"The purpose is to take it mainstream, but we are already
starting with a significant number of people who drink them
since a third of the state is Hispanic," said Jeff Manning,
executive director of the milk board. "There is a real
foundation for it."
The milk board believes the general public is ready for
licuados, based on a series of taste tests it conducted. Of
500 non-Hispanic Californians who tasted the drink, 93 percent
said they liked the flavor. About half thought a licuado would
make a good meal replacement.
"I think it makes an enormous amount of sense for families,"
Manning said, "especially anyone who wants something non-
alcoholic and without an enormous amount of sugar."
The milk board is trying to encourage more restaurants to put
licuados on their menus. The drink is already available in a
number of mainstream restaurants throughout Southern
California, including Cha Cha Cha in Los Angeles.
In San Diego, licuados can be found at some restaurants that
serve Latin American-style food, including Rivas Mexican Food
on Logan Avenue and El Comal on Imperial Avenue.
In Tijuana, licuados are a traditional breakfast option. At
the Paraiso Tropical juice bar, on Bolevard Agua Caliente, the
blender is always whirring for the health-conscious morning
crowd.