When Barack Obama takes to the airwaves Wednesday night, he'll enjoy a rare luxury in presidential campaigns: a half-hour of uninterrupted advertising time bought on several of the nation's largest television networks.
Many viewers will be watching it in Spanish. In addition to buying time on CBS, FOX and NBC, Obama has used his financial might to buy a separate 30-minute block on Univision, the country's largest Spanish-language network -- a first in the history of presidential campaigns. The long-form ad is the latest element in a vast Spanish-language media blitz that experts say could change the fight for the Hispanic vote in the future.
"Buying a half-hour on Univision is like putting a Spanish-language ad on the Super Bowl. It almost doesn't matter what you say because the main message is to say 'I know you're there and I recognize you,' '' said Roberto Suro, a founder of the Pew Hispanic Center and a journalism professor at the University of Southern California.
"It's hard to imagine now that a Democrat candidate can not buy a half-hour on Univision the next time around.''
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