• by Teresa Buyikian , 2 hours ago

Patrón leverages the controversy affecting a portion of the tequila industry in a campaign highlighting the brand’s premium ingredients. 

The premium tequila maker’s new campaign invites tequila drinkers to ask, “What’s actually in your tequila?”

The effort is a nod to the fact that many brands, such as Teremana, Don Julio and Casamigos, are the targets of an ongoing class-action lawsuit alleging that they are falsely marketed as 100% agave. Patrón is comprised of 100% Weber Blue Agave, water and yeast ,with no additives.

The campaign, created with BBH USA, consists of interactive billboards, murals and digital kiosks in major U.S. cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, Austin and San Francisco, among others.

One execution covers up a Patrón bottle with honeybees (the brand’s mascot) so only its silhouette shows, inviting consumers to identify the brand before sending them to the website guess-which-tequila.com. Once on the site, the Patrón bottle is revealed alongside details on its ingredients. Another OOH ad reads “100% Fine-Print-Free Tequila” alongside bottles of Patrón. A third features purposely misspelled copy, directing the viewer to Why-the-typo.com for more info.

“Most people would never guess that their tequila might contain glycerin, oak extract, sugar-based syrup, or caramel coloring,” said Roberto Ramirez-Laverde, global senior vice president, Patrón Tequila, in a release “We have used the same three ingredients since 1989 -- 100% Weber Blue Agave, water, and yeast -- and we believe people deserve to know what is in their glass. We hope our latest advertising campaign continues to ignite a broader conversation about ingredient transparency across the category.”

The brand cites its recent Patrón global drinks study as campaign inspiration, which found that 78% of respondents would prefer a “tequila taste over one that has been artificially improved,” with 88% saying they “would consider switching brands if they learned their tequila contained undisclosed additives.”