NPRC SATISFIED WITH OUTCOME OVER THE NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE/MILLER COORS "EMBORICUATE" TERM CONTROVERSY

In a statement released today, Miller Coors and The National Puerto Rican Day Parade decided to discontinue the "Emboricuate" advertising campaign associated with the largest parade in the nation. Community leaders and citizens of Puerto Rican descent had express discontent and called to censure the utilization of the term "Emboricuate" due to its similarity to the Spanish term "Emborrachate", which literally means "Drink Up". 

"NPRC could understand that the similarity in terms and the newly redesigned advertising creative led our constituents to believe that the beer company was being disrespectful to us. In direct conversations with high level executives at Miller Coors, NPRC was able to ascertain that the beer company never intended to disrespect our culture, values, or image," indicated Rafael A. Fantauzzi President & CEO of the National Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC). "We commend the leadership of The National Puerto Rican Day Parade for demanding respect and support from corporations that benefit financially from our constituents and we also commend Miller Coors for choosing to value the message of responsible consumption and corporate social responsibility." 

(BELOW IS THE JOINT STATEMENT REALEASED BY MILLER COORS AND THE NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE) 

Today, in a joint decision with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, we have decided to voluntarily discontinue the “Emboricuate” Coors Light Puerto Rican Day Parade advertising campaign. Coors Light has been a proud partner of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade since 2009 and our commitment will remain strong.  Our goal, as a partner of the parade, has always been to support the Puerto Rican Community and the “Emboricuate” campaign was developed to celebrate Puerto Rican pride. While the campaign has garnered support and criticisms in the community, it was never our intent to offend anyone and we felt it important to remove the ads to not further detract from the celebration of the Parade. We will continue our support of the Parade and the many programs that benefit the Latino community, while always encouraging all of our consumers to enjoy our products responsibly. 

En el día de hoy, en una decisión conjunta con el Desfile del Día Nacional de Puerto Rico, hemos decidido en forma voluntaria suspender la campaña publicitaria “Emborícuate” de Coors Light para el Desfile del Día Nacional de Puerto Rico. Coors Light ha sido un orgulloso patrocinador del Desfile del Día Nacional de Puerto Rico desde 2009, y nuestro fuerte compromiso continuará. Como socios del Desfile, nuestro objetivo siempre ha sido apoyar a la comunidad puertorriqueña, y la campaña “Emborícuate” fue desarrollada para celebrar el orgullo puertorriqueño. Mientras que la  campaña ha generado apoyo y críticas por parte de la comunidad, nuestra intención nunca fue ofender a nadie, y consideramos importante retirar los anuncios para no desmerecer la celebración del Desfile. Continuaremos apoyando al Desfile y a los muchos programas que benefician a la comunidad latina, al tiempo que seguiremos alentando siempre a todos nuestros consumidores a disfrutar de nuestros productos en forma responsable.