Commercials are usually something we try to skip over or mindlessly watch them without paying much attention.
But they can be great learning tools.
They’re short, generally have a very simple storyline, and use real everyday language and common idiomatic vocabulary.
If you’re learning Spanish, watching Spanish commercials is an activity you should add to your routine.
Keep scrolling for 15 ads in Spanish that will entertain you and help you improve your language skills.
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1. McDonald’s “Night Run”
This is a sweet commercial that gives a glimpse at the joys of impending parenthood, not to mention the love it takes to go out in all kinds of weather to keep a loved one happy—and well-fed!
In addition to being heartwarming, it’s also excellent for language learners. The first few phrases are in English and the rest is in Spanish or Spanglish. Wait for the reveal at the end!
2. McDonald’s “Love the Most”
This is a great commercial because it provides comparison practice and shows how to give descriptions.
It’s a short, sweet family story where the father is both lovable and wise! It’s short enough to watch a few times so feel free to press “repeat” and speak along with the dialogue for some pronunciation practice, too.
3. 1980s Bimbo Bread Commercial
Visitors to South America will recognize the Bimbo bear and appreciate this vintage commercial. It’s a touching mother/daughter lunch tale with English subtitles.
The value of this one (aside from the cuteness) is the cultural context. It gives you a chance to see and listen in on a sweet family interaction in Spanish.
4. Pedigree’s Talking Dog Commercial
This one has English subtitles, but the action is so straightforward and the pronunciation is clear enough that even beginning Spanish learners could understand it without them.
Watch it the first time or two for the language-learning potential… and watch it a few more times for the adorable dog!
5. BIMBO Commerical: “¿Quién quiere pan?” (“Who Wants Bread?”)
This commercial, another one for Bimbo bread, will have you humming the catchy song after you watch it. And the karaoke-style lyrics on the screen will let you sing along as you watch.
The super-simple song makes it a perfect bite of Spanish comprehension and pronunciation practice.
6. IKEA Commercial: “La otra carta” (“The Other Letter”)
IKEA knows how to present a dramatic commercial! In the ad, parents read Christmas letters written by their children. It’s beautiful and poignant, and might make you tear up a bit.
The dialogue is authentic and most of it’s spoken slowly and with great emotion. You’ll get the simple language of kids and the more advanced language of the parents.
7. IKEA Spain: Christmas 2018
IKEA did it again with this emotional commercial from 2018 that shows Spanish families competing in a quiz. The quiz reveals that the family members know a lot more about social media trends and YouTubers than they do about each other.
The takeaway message is that they need to have more real conversations with each other rather than just being on their phones. It communicates IKEA’s stated values of family, togetherness and community and is still very relevant today.
8. M&M’s Commercial with William Levy
This commercial features William Levy, a popular Cuban-American actor and former model. It’s a silly conversation between him and a female M&M over lunch.
Their conversation is based on her concern that he only likes her because she’s a delicious piece of chocolate candy. With the English subtitles, even beginners can follow along, pick up some new language and get the joke.
9. 2016 Super Bowl Commercials
This compilation of English-language commercials has Spanish subtitles, which makes it a great tool for early beginners to start building their Spanish vocabulary. You’ll draw associations between the words you’re reading and what you’re hearing.
You’ll also visualize Spanish spellings and sentence structure without getting lost. Check out the slang terms, watch for the trickier punctuation marks and write down any new Spanish words and their English equivalents.
10. 2014 Spanish Lottery Commercial
The Spanish lottery commercials are always much anticipated, and they highlight a big event in Spain. This heartwarming ad tells the story of a Christmas lottery drawing that’s more about friendship than winning money.
This commercial is subtitled, so both beginners and more advanced learners can get the full effect of the video. And there are a few characters so you’ll hear some variety in spoken Spanish.
11. 2015 Spanish Christmas Lottery Commercial
This longer-form commercial can primarily help with your Spanish reading skills. You’ll see written words related to the main character’s work, calendar words and more.
Like the commercial above, it also does a great job of illustrating the cultural phenomenon of the Christmas lottery. The story is beautifully animated and is a definite heart-grabber.
12. Coca-Cola Commercial: Copa America (World Cup)
This Spanish commercial from 2011 follows an Argentinian football fan who’s forced to sit on the Brazil side when he can’t get a seat with his fellow Argentinians.
Despite his best efforts to contain his cheers for Argentina, he lets out an exclamation when they score a goal. You’ll have to watch to see how he saves himself from the ruthless Brazilian fans. While it doesn’t contain much dialogue, it’s culturally relevant (and funny!).
13. Coca-Cola Commerical: “Cambia las estadísticas” (Change the statistics)
Here’s another good one from Coca-Cola, this one with a lot more language. This one is great for practicing the future tense, as it talks about how the world will be in the future according to statistics—but how we can change that with healthier habits.
It’s a bit ironic that a company that sells sugary beverages is promoting healthy living, but it’s a good message and a great mini-language lesson.
14. Cruzcampo Commercial: Analucía
This short commercial packs in a lot of language—and regional pride. The narrator talks about the Andalucía region of Spain where the Cruzcampo brand of beer is made. He speaks quickly, which gives you good practice listening to the typical pace of the Spanish language.
You can always change the playback speed to slow down the speed of the video to improve your comprehension, then listen again at 1x speed to get used to this faster pace.
15. LaLa 100 Commercial with Chris Evans
This commercial for a Mexican brand of milk features American actor Chris Evans speaking in English and a mother speaking Spanish. They connect over their shared exhaustion and she offers him the milk, which she claims gives her the energy to do it all.
Again, the Spanish is quick so you may have to watch it a few times. You’ll hear the preterite (past) tense, the subjunctive and more, as well as vocabulary related to a typical busy day in one’s life.
How to Add Commercials to Your Language Program
There are a couple of ways to incorporate Spanish commercials into your regular language study.
The easiest? Watch Spanish TV live by streaming it online. Not only will you get practice during the commercial breaks, but you can also enjoy real Spanish TV shows!
Streema offers live streaming provided by several Spanish TV stations from all areas of Spain.
Remember, you’re watching for language value. When there’s a break in the show’s action, don’t get up! It’s no longer the time to get some chips or take a potty break. Commercials mean it’s time for a mini-lesson, so stay put and learn!
Wondering what to do if you’re not a TV fan? No worries—I’ve got you covered.
- YouTube is loaded with Spanish commercials, with content ranging from familiar products to risqué ads. Some have English subtitles. To check out what’s there, just type “Spanish commercials” in the search bar and you’ll have options galore.
Spanish commercials aren’t just for snack breaks anymore.
Watch them for the great dialogue, the heartwarming plots and even for the catchy Spanish songs!
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing…
If you’ve made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It’ll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
