The quartet is at the center of a Spanish-language ad campaign launching this spring for Costa Mesa, Calif.-based El Pollo Loco, a quick-service chain known for flame-grilled chicken.

“The cooks are the heart of it,” says Maite Quílez-D'Amico of both the ad campaign and the 416-unit chain. Quílez-D'Amico is president and chief creative officer of Cruz/kravetz:IDEAS, El Pollo Loco's Burbank, Calif.-based ad agency. “They really do have cooks in the restaurant. It is a true property of El Pollo Loco.”

The 34-year-old chain has long courted a Spanish-speaking clientele, and it also has emphasized its flaming grill in its marketing. In fact, the brand began in Mexico and was brought to the United States in 1980.

But this campaign takes it up a notch. “We are elevating what they do to the level of master,” adds Quílez-D'Amico, noting that each of the four cooks is called “maestro.”

Thanks to the uncertainty of the U.S. economy, El Pollo Loco is trying to be more fluid with its ad spending in 2009 than in previous years.Hardison says: “We are not abandoning our broadcast effort in this economy.”

Instead of planning the whole year in advance, the chain is planning quarter by quarter. El Pollo Loco has worked with Cruz/kravetz:IDEAS for its Hispanic advertising for a decade, which should make it easier for the team to make changes throughout the year.

The team shot enough film for 11 different spots, so it will have flexibility as needed. The commercials will air on Univision, Telemundo, TeleFutura and other Spanish-language broadcast outlets, and they may serve to introduce new menu items throughout the year in addition to being used for straight brand building.

What is certain is that the spots, when they air, will have a unique sound. The team created a soundtrack using music that is popular with a cross-section of Hispanics, not just Mexicans, Hardison adds.

“Music is the spark in these spots. We built the spots to the music rather than put the music to the spots,” he says. The music was written specifically for El Pollo Loco, and the lyrics echo the brand message. In fact, the music was so catchy that Hardison was asked to burn a CD for his kids.

“Music is such an integral part of Hispanic culture,” Quílez-D'Amico says. “I was watching the Latin Grammy Awards and saw that [the different types of music] cross over very much. So we thought it was a great way to choreograph the message.”

El Pollo Loco will spend $4 million on its Hispanic advertising efforts, as compared with $10 million for its general market campaign. But the Hispanic business does not play second fiddle to the English-language campaign, which will be created later this year.

“We are consistent in the messaging we use—the message is the food,” Hardison says. “We use the same food photography. The focus is on the grill, which is the first thing guests see when they walk in the restaurant. They show the passion we have for grilling chicken.”

The Spanish-language spots have a tagline, “Que rico pollo,” which roughly translates to “tasty chicken,” a common phrase that makes sense for the brand mission in both languages.

In addition to the four chefs, the campaign will feature ads with four different El Pollo Loco customers—a housewife, a male worker, a woman at an outdoor party and a kid in an urban environment—each savoring the brand's core product.

Adds Hardison: “We recognize that these spots are a morale-booster for employees. But first, they are for our customers.”