Ads target the at-home entertainer
The tattooed, half-naked, exhibitionist bartenders in a new campaign for Bacardi Canada’s ready-made Classic Cocktails line probably don’t do “shaken, not stirred,” or “on the rocks.”
They do, however, do a “double guns” strawberry daiquiri and a “check my pecs” pina colada. The new “No Bartender Required” campaign consists of a series of 15-second spots showing bartenders “preparing” Bacardi’s ready-made cocktails with their own signature flair, despite having to do nothing more than pour the product into a glass.
Each spot concludes with a product shot and the message “No bartender required.” The spots are running as Facebook video ads, and will also appear on YouTube and other sites.
“The insight was this is a bar-quality beverage, but it doesn’t require all that showmanship,” said Patrick Scissons, founder and CEO of Birthplace Inc., the Toronto agency that developed the campaign.
According to Scissons, the ads are aimed at women who are gradually moving away from the bar scene in favour of at-home entertaining. “That humorous, tongue-in-cheek satire and potshots at the bartenders is something that they can appreciate and get a good laugh out of,” said Scissons.
The ads also feature two of Canada’s premiere “flair” bartenders, inspired by the 1980s Tom Cruise movie Cocktail. One of them, Zach Prohaska, is the sixth-ranked flair bartender in the world.
The videos are also being supported by a dedicated Facebook Community at Facebook.com/BacardiClassicCocktails that offers fans exclusive tips on home entertaining.
“The second piece is to give something of value to the consumer,” said Scissons. “This product is all about ease and convenience, but [Bacardi] is also going to help you with ease and convenience in party planning and at-home entertaining.”
Toronto’s Denneboom handled media for the campaign.
