Habla 'Spanglish'? Ad agencies use bilingual approach for youth market.

The English-Spanish line is becoming grayer and grayer in advertising.

Energi Creative Partners, a seven-year-old L.A. ad agency that has focused much of its efforts on Hispanics, is launching a new division called Energia aimed squarely at the audience segment that falls between the general and Hispanic markets.

"The more we thought about it the more we thought it was an opportunity we were missing," said Albert Sandoval, president and creative director of Energi. "There really is a need for ads created for that second-or third-generation Hispanic who is under 40."

Sandoval noted that clients on board so far include San Antonio Winery, which plans a print and outdoor campaign that includes such headlines as. "Una Latina With Good Taste" and "Kick Up Your Tacones." Other clients include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and cable operator Comeast Corp.

While the increased use of an English/Spanish hybrid frequently referred to as "Spanglish" has stirred concern among those who see it as a bastardization of the Spanish language, it is emerging as a standard device aimed at young Hispanics.

"If you are speaking to your people you should speak their language," said Paul Lopez, president of the Cultural Access Group, an L.A. market research firm specializing in multi-ethnic issues. "Many may have lost their language but they have not lost their connection to their culture."

Lopez's group found that 75 percent of the Hispanics in L.A., New York and Miami between the ages of 14 and 24 say they speak "Spanglish." Even those who speak Spanish at home typically speak English when they are among Spanish-speaking friends.

The effort at Energi reflects a wider pattern of advertisers fine-tuning campaigns to fit a specific niche within a broader demographic.

"It used to be companies would say, 'Oh, we have ads that have been translated into Spanish, but they are realizing that is not enough," said David Wasser, senior producer for "Hispanics Today," a weekly syndicated television program "The advertising community has been very slow to recognize that one size does not fit all when you are addressing the Hispanic community."

While it is common for major national brands to create parallel campaigns aimed at Hispanics, many still struggle with a precise direction.

"We talk about it on a daily basis." said Karen Treydte, executive media director of Conill Advertising, a Torrance-based unit of Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi agency that targets the Hispanic market. "The Hispanic audience has grown up. It's more sophisticated. But at the same time it has become very focused on the young people. The older Hispanic population is being ignored."