American soccer star Landon Donovan is so famous in Mexico that he's appearing in a new TV commercial for a product he'd never be promoting in the United States - gambling on a soccer lottery.
In the ad, Donovan slithers across the border from the United States into Mexico disguised as a campesino, or peasant. He's wearing a huge sombrero with a brightly colored poncho draped over his shoulders. He adds to his feeble attempt with a bushy, stick-on mustache.
A yawning border guard immediately recognizes the gringo sneaking through the tall grass.
``I'm a Mexican,'' Donovan pleads in Spanish.
The guard peels off his mustache and shoots back: ``Of course you're not, you're Landon Donovan. What are you doing on this side?'' Donovan says he's come over to play a new soccer lottery which promises easier winnings than other sports lotteries in Mexico. With this, the guard snatches away his lottery ticket and chases him home.
Donovan shuffles away and blurts out a profanity often hurled at him during soccer games against Mexico.
On the surface, the advertisement is a reminder of the more relaxed attitude outside the United States toward gambling on sports events.
But the 55-second spot also serves as a barometer on what images are culturally acceptable in Mexico. Some have raised eyebrows at using the touchy topic of illegal immigration to sell a product - in this case the pitch is for the new soccer lottery ``GanaGol,'' being run by Televisa, the Mexico TV giant and the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world.
Donovan is a shrewd choice to sell a product in Mexico. He's the leading scorer in the history of the U.S. national team, and an American player most Mexicans love to hate.
He's scored key goals against Mexico's national team, and he's surely better known in Mexico than the United States, where he'd be unlikely to appear in a such a high-profile television spot.
In a critical World Cup qualifying match in August between Mexico and the United States, Donovan was showered with beer and boos whenever he took a corner kick before 100,000 fans at Aztec Stadium in Mexico City.
Donovan comes off in the ad as a largely sympathetic character; endearing since he speaks Spanish well, and humble - a positive thing since many Mexicans have accused him of being arrogant. The sight of him in his cartoonish outfit isn't a big deal, said Carlos Monsivais, a Mexican journalist and social commentator.
``Twenty years ago perhaps that image would have been offensive, and 50 years ago, for sure,'' Monsivais said. ``But now after so many Westerns, comedies - frankly I think Mexicans do not care about this. It's hard to have national pride offended by something like this.''
Monsivais, however, was surprised that the ad seemed to make light of immigration problems between Mexico and the United States.
``If it's only a comic thing I don't care,'' Monsivais said. ``If it is derogatory toward migrants, it is very obnoxious.''
Rene Tovar, a columnist for the sports newspaper Daily Record, said it was a ``Mexican dream'' to see Donovan treated the way illegal Mexicans are daily in the United States, even if it's just a make-believe TV commercial.
``Donovan surrendering to Mexican police at the border surely is the dream of thousands of Mexicans who have their basic rights violated when they look for better opportunities in the United States,'' he said.
``But it should be seen more as humor than taken seriously.''
Overlapping the cultural stereotype and the sensitive issue of immigration is the decision to use an athlete to endorse gambling - even legal gambling. The Mexico lottery is legal, and nobody is accusing Donovan of wrongdoing.
FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, seems to take a murky position on betting and gambling.
It continually warns against the illegal betting and the threat of match-fixing in soccer. Last month FIFA agreed to work with Interpol, the international police agency, to fight against illegal betting. And prior to the 2006 World Cup, FIFA made players and officials sign a statement saying they would not participate in gambling related to the tournament.
However, FIFA apparently has no problem with the close links between legal betting and professional soccer clubs. Two of Europe's biggest clubs - Real Madrid and AC Milan - carry the name of online betting company bwin on the front of their shirts.
In England, at least four clubs are sponsored by online betting companies - Tottenham, Bolton, Fulham and Hull - and many soccer fields in Europe and Latin America are ringed with ads for online betting and bookmakers.
For several seasons the Portuguese league was sponsored by bwin, but the sponsorship changed to a local beer brand in 2008 after a dispute with other gambling interests in Portugal.
FIFA spells out its rules on betting in Article 13 of its Code of Ethics:
``Officials are forbidden from taking part, either directly or indirectly, in betting, gambling, lotteries and similar events or transactions connected with football matches. They are forbidden from having stakes, either actively or passively, in companies, concerns, organizations, etc. that promote, broker, arrange or conduct such events or transactions.''
The major professional sports leagues in the United States have kept a greater distance from gambling.
Last month, for instance, the NFL agreed to let Las Vegas advertise in game telecasts through the playoffs but it still prohibits ads for specific hotels, casinos and other institutions. And the new ads may not contain any reference to gambling.
Richard Motzkin, Donovan's agent, offered ``no comment'' to a series of e-mail questions from The AP. Repeated attempts to reach Donovan at English club Everton were unsuccessful.
Televisa, which owns three Mexican soccer clubs, defended the ad and its ownership of a soccer lottery.
``In no way did we ridicule anyone. The ad is to show off a product,'' Elias Fernandez, the director of Televisa's subsidiary that handles its gambling interests, said in a statement.
``Televisa is not breaking, nor will it break any national or international laws (including FIFA regulations). It is worthwhile pointing out that the game (lottery) is structured in such a way that the prize money given out is a percentage of the sales. The organizer does not benefit from the results of the matches.''
