Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has signed telenovela star Gabriela Spanic to front a Spanish-language campaign promoting colorectal cancer screening among Hispanic adults in the United States.
Spanic rose to international fame through the 1998 telenovela “La Usurpadora,” in which she played twin sisters with starkly contrasting personalities on the same show.
Her dual role as the manipulative Paola Bracho and the gentle Paulina Martinez demonstrated a dramatic range that elevated her career to a new level of stardom across Latin America.
Abbott is now channelling that star power to drive greater awareness of colon cancer screening in a community that is disproportionately affected by the disease.
The campaign leans into telenovela-style storytelling and humour, with Spanic bringing what Abbott describes as her “signature dramatic flair to the humorous spots.”
The central message is that while life can be full of drama, getting screened for colorectal cancer does not have to be a daunting experience.
Peter Wood, vice president of screening at Abbott’s cancer diagnostics business, said the approach is designed to lower barriers to conversation around a sensitive health topic.
“Humor can make it easier to start difficult conversations,” Wood said, adding that Abbott hopes “this campaign turns greater awareness into action by encouraging more Hispanic adults to ask their healthcare provider about Cologuard Plus and get screened for colon cancer.”
The campaign builds on a strategy that predates Abbott’s $23 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences, the company behind the stool-based Cologuard Plus test for colorectal cancer detection.
Exact Sciences launched its first Spanish-language Cologuard advertisements in 2024, running across television, radio, and digital and social channels to reach Hispanic communities.
Those initial Spanish-language spots took a straightforward tone, centring on a husband and father navigating the screening conversation with his family and healthcare provider.
Abbott’s English-language marketing for Cologuard has taken a noticeably bolder comedic direction, having previously featured Lil Jon, the poop emoji, and a singing toilet in one widely noticed advertisement.
The new Spanish-language campaign marks a deliberate evolution in how Abbott tailors its Cologuard Plus messaging to resonate with culturally specific audiences across different platforms.