Telemundo Welcomes ‘Bad Luck,’ Allstate to Awards

No one is safe from bad luck — not even Telemundo.

Based on all accounts, the network was perfectly happy with the presence of “bad luck” — that is, insurance firm Allstate’s character “Mala Suerte” (in English, bad luck) — at its fifth annual Premios Tu Mundo awards show, held Aug. 25 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.

Prior to the show’s 8 p.m. start, Telemundo aired the 60-minute pre-event show La Alfombra de Premios Tu Mundo. Normally a red carpet affair full of interviews with arriving stars, this event employed a blue carpet, thanks to sponsor Allstate.

The azure promenade ensured that Allstate’s blue and white colors were reinforced with viewers; rival State Farm uses red across most of its marketing.

Allstate was also able to get “Mala Suerte” seen across its Spanish-language advertising on the blue carpet, and be interviewed just like the award nominees.

Further brand integrations saw “Mala Suerte” appear in vignettes based on Telemundo’s series Bajo el Mismo Cielo and El Señor de los Cielos during the awards ceremony, prior to the presentation of a custom award category — “Favorite Protagonist with Bad Luck”.

Allstate’s partnership also extended to digital and social platforms with the first-ever Blue Screen Challenge, which asked participating celebrities to react to scenarios happening in the background — including some thematic “Mala Suerte” moments.

To help promote the appearance of “Mala Suerte” on the Premios, custom segments were woven into the programming mix of Telemundo’s weekday news and entertainment program Un Nuevo Día.

Premios Tu Mundo was born from innovation, growing from a digital-first experiment five years ago to now being one of Telemundo’s biggest cross-platform events,” NBCUniversal executive vice president of advertising sales, News and Hispanic Groups Mike Rosen said. The key? Bringing “immersive consumer experiences in which our sponsors play essential roles” to fruition, he said.

“From contextual alignments of sponsoring brands to the awards themselves, to a surround-sound of associated custom content across linear, digital, mobile and social, marketers have found that [our awards show] offers an ultimate way for a brand to express itself and its value to a highly attentive and receptive audience,” Rosen said.

The event was televised live on the East Coast; West Coast viewers saw the awards show on tape delay.