Don Julio has been the #1 luxury tequila since 2012 and the Don Julio 1942 brand is widely synonymous with celebration. However, facing increased competition (114 new luxury tequila extensions launched in 4 years), the brand needed to break through in a crowded category to further drive recruitment and consideration in a category where penetration is 2/3 the size of whiskey, and repurchase rate is half as frequent.

With more people coming into the tequila category than ever before, the brand needed the right vehicle to entice new consumers to consider Don Julio 1942. The brand launched a new small format (50-milliliter): a seven-inch-tall (18cm) bottle as a more accessible and approachable entry point to the luxury tequila category - and the ideal format for a celebratory toast!

Sources: NABCA; Nielsen Luxury+ Tequila launches in the L52w and L52W 4YA; Numerator People Scorecard Report – 12m ending F23

In front of millions of live viewers, Don Julio took centerstage during the Oscars when Jimmy Kimmel and his right-hand man, Guillermo Rodriguez, surprised Best Actor nominee Colman Domingo with a Don Julio margarita. The audience joined in on the toast, raising more than 3,000 mini bottles of 1942, the ideal format for the historic toast.

On the red carpet after the show, Guillermo continued toasting celebrities with 1942 in front of reporters, generating additional buzz and creating content for the Jimmy Kimmel Live post-Oscars television special.

Don Julio was invited to the most prestigious Oscar parties, including the official Academy Awards’ Governors Ball, Vanity Fair party, and Elton John AIDS Foundation event.

And all of the earned media was complemented by more press outreach, as well as social media content, influencer partnerships, and paid advertising to ensure Don Julio surrounded the Oscars across all key media channels.

Luxury tequila drinkers are 60% more likely to watch award shows and 138% more likely to watch Jimmy Kimmel (MRI Simmons), making the Oscars a unique opportunity to put strategy into action by showing up in the most high-profile toast moment any brand could connect with—Hollywood’s biggest night.

Such stages can be crowded, so a brand would need to communicate authentically and unexpectedly to be memorable. Not just within ads, but within the ceremony itself.

By leveraging a partnership with Jimmy Kimmel cultivated over 13 years, the Oscars host could reaffirm the brand’s reputation as a pinnacle of luxury celebration—seemingly organically, in front of millions of viewers, and live on air.

Don Julio 1942’s in-show integration created an ideal synergy between brand and experience by building on long-standing and deep-rooted partnerships with the Academy Awards, host Jimmy Kimmel, and celebrities like Colman Domingo.

With trust in our partners to deliver authentically, Don Julio handed the reins over to Kimmel and Guillermo to surprise and delight the audience with the new 1942 mini bottles. The now viral “¡salud!” toast would be witnessed by hundreds of millions of viewers, with Don Julio's achievement in becoming the first spirits brand to be integrated into the Oscars live broadcast being particularly significant.

The brand's success in navigating the complex legal and institutional landscape of the Oscars, and securing a live in-show integration, is no small celebration in and of itself. To do so in a way that sets new benchmarks for luxury advertising, pushes the industry into new territory.

Don Julio's Oscars activation not only elevated the brand's position and drove recruitment, it also demonstrated how the launch of a new format could elevate an entire brand. Within 48 hours, Don Julio generated 4.5 billion earned impressions, with website visits spiking by 1100% week-over-week.

The stunt was covered by outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, Good Morning America, and People. The Hollywood Reporter published an article titled, “Don Julio 1942 Makes a Splash at the Oscars: Here’s Where to Buy the Celeb-Approved Tequila Online”. Variety couldn’t hold their excitement and leaked the news pre-show. Later, Adweek ran an in-depth feature about how the work came to be. And PRWeek “asked PR pros to vote on their favorite part of” the Academy Awards—Don Julio’s moment was a clear favorite.

Online, users expressed their love for the skit, declaring Don Julio the real winner of the star-studded night. On X, conversations around Don Julio increased 652% YoY and a 99.99% positive sentiment.

And with regards to business outcomes, attention quickly converted into purchase consideration, with the brand generating 17.5K leads at a CPL 751% above benchmarks during the pre-sale of the sought-after 50ml bottles the following weekend.