- Noreen O'Leary

Allstate, the insurance sponsor of soccer’s Mexican National Team, is launching a promotion awarding the winner, and a guest, an all-expenses-paid trip to Dallas to watch a ‘Tricolor’ game, on September 30. The winner will be accompanied by Mexican soccer legend Luis Roberto Alves, known to fans as Zague, who is also a former MNT captain.

The multi-channel promotion, where consumers can participate online, on-site at the Allstate booth at Futbol Fiesta in Atlanta and San Diego, and by texting, marks Allstate’s third year as a sponsor of MNT and the company’s involvement with Alves. Last year, for example, consumers participated in a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to Miami for a dinner with Alves. Allstate has built out a dedicated Website to MNT and is doing public relations and community events in conjunction with the team.

Allstate, which spent $50 million on Hispanic print, TV and cable in 2008, per Nielsen, has also just released the latest spot in its "Affordability" campaign.One spot, "Load," shows a young Hispanic man in a laundromat, stuffing an oversized amount of laundry into a machine in an effort to make his money go further. A Spanish-language voiceover asks: “Are you extracting every cent? With Allstate you can save now. Drivers who switched to Allstate saved $396 in auto insurance. Are you in good hands?”

The spots are running on Spanish language networks like Telemundo and Univision as well as Spanish cable outlets like CNN en Espanol. Allstate’s agency is Publicis Groupe's Lapiz, with its corporate sibling Tapestry, handling media chores.

Georgina Flores, senior marketing manager at Allstate, said the agency has used a value positioning to target Hispanic consumers, long before the economic downturn.

“You’re seeing messages about affordability and helping people save in all media. But the Hispanic community has always had the mentality where they want to make the most of their money and living a back-to-basics lifestyle,” says Flores. “We’ve always talked about affordable quality and value with them.”