Como ama una mujer, the highly-anticipated drama series executive produced by Jennifer Lopez, debuted on Univision Oct. 30 at 10 p.m., garnering a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 and finishing fourth after ABC, NBC and CBS. The original, five-part series was filmed in Mexico and features Lopez as creator and executive producer and a cast of Latin American TV actors.
But while the ratings of Comoama una mujer still have to pick up, there is product integration aplenty. Univision lined up a list of blue-chip sponsors including Garnier Fructis, Visa and General Motors, which have integrated their brands either as part of the story line or by prominent on-screen placement during the five-week event. GM, for example, has several of its vehicles prominently shown during each episode, including the Tahoe, Silverado and Corvette.
“The cool thing about [this partnership] is that Chevy vehicles are integrated throughout the story line,” said Chevrolet multicultural marketing manager Cynthia Price. The automaker’s partnership includes a digital component with an ongoing sweepstakes promotion running through Nov. 27 in which Chevy and Univision will give away a brand new Chevy Malibu to one winner, who will receive the keys from Lopez herself in March.
Comoama una mujer is important for Univision, which is stepping up efforts to produce more original content that can also appear online (something it cannot do with Televisa’s programming). At last week’s conference of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies in New York City, Univision CEO Joe Uva said his network is working on developing more primetime programming, although he conceded it wouldn’t be a strategy as aggressive as that of Telemundo.
Another big project on the table is Univision’s upcoming Spanish-language version of Desperate Housewives (Amas de casa desesperadas) produced by Disney-ABC International Television Latin America and filmed in Argentina. The show, which is set to debut in 2008 on Univision, is a Latinized version of ABC’s successful series.
At deadline, Univision was set to announce 2007 third-quarter results.
