After teasing a Chespirito project focused on El Chavo del Ocho for weeks, actor Eugenio Derbez (CODA) finally revealed what it was on Wednesday (March 24) – and what a major disappointment.
While many fans were hoping it was a new TV series or biopic on late Mexican actor Roberto Gómez Bolaños, best known by his stage name Chespirito, it was neither. Instead, Derbez announced a new advertising campaign, “Latino Like You,” for DishLATINO.
“Finally!!! The wait is over,” Derbez wrote alongside a video he posted to social media. “Go to latinocomotu.com now to see what my project with El Chavo is all about!!!”
When you go to the website, a commercial for DishLATINO is available to play that features Derbez and El Chavo talking about all the benefits of purchasing the TV provider. El Chavo steps out of the TV and into Derbez’s living room where he seems surprised about all the channels DishLATINO offers.
What keeps the ad campaign from being a total letdown is that the character of El Chavo was created by using “deepfake” technology, which can modify a person’s face seamlessly. See a great example of the technology here.
Although videos that Derbez posted in recent weeks from the set of the commercial showed an actor in the “El Chavo” costume, it turns out only the actor’s body was used while deepfake tech allowed for Chespirito’s real face to be used in the ad spot.
“This project with Eugenio and El Chavo gave us a unique opportunity to go one step further and showcase the pride we should feel for the advances and contributions of the Latino community,” said Alfredo Rodríguez, Vice President of the Latino Center of Excellence at Dish Network.
