Tequila Don Julio, and its premium offering 1942, are culturally associated with iconic celebrations, milestone moments like the biggest game in America, or a night out with friends. With a reputation as one of Mexico’s most luxurious exports, the brand has been setting benchmarks for the luxury sector since its founding more than eighty years ago. So when we came to Las Vegas to toast Super Bowl LVIII and the prestige that comes with it, we wanted to make a sophisticated splash—one that would keep the brand top-of-mind through the Big Game weekend, and memorable for long after.

SUPER BOWL

The Super Bowl is America’s most-celebrated annual sports event, and, per Ad Age, “is routinely the most-watched TV event of the year in the U.S.” With this year’s game played in Las Vegas, Nevada, between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, 330,000 football fans converged on the city for the “Big Game” weekend. The Super Bowl is also widely known for its outsized advertising, with brands paying upwards of $7,000,000 USD for 30-seconds of airtime.

VIVA LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas is the “Entertainment Capital of the World" and going big is critical when activating in the city, especially during an event like the Super Bowl. For Don Julio 1942—a brand synonymous with celebrations from everyday feats to lifetime milestones—the time and place were perfect to take the spotlight.

LUXURY TEQUILA

Tequila's popularity has been rising in the United States since the early 2000s, with the transformation of its image from a party drink to a refined, luxury spirit playing a major role in growth. 114 luxury tequila brand extensions have launched since 2020 (Nielsen), and in 2021, tequila surpassed whiskey in U.S. retail sales, making it the second best-selling spirit behind vodka (Statista). Don Julio is the leader in the category (NABCA) since 2012, and 1942 is the brand’s iconic luxury offering.

The combination of the three was the perfect blend for Don Julio to disrupt the traditional Super Bowl advertising landscape.

SITUATION

Since 2012, Don Julio's 1942 has stood as a celebration icon and the number one luxury tequila brand per the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. Facing a 25% surge in new entrants to the luxury tequila category and low household penetration, we had to make big bets to maintain our seat at the table.

BRIEF

Activate Don Julio during the highest visibility event in American advertising to reassert 1942’s reputation as the world’s leading luxury tequila.

OBJECTIVES

• Reinforce consumer recognition for an iconic brand asset, the 1942 bottle, driving demand and sales through the weekend.

• Create a first-of-its-kind execution to drive national attention for Don Julio during a competitive advertising moment.

Standing at 1,149 feet (350 meters), the STRAT is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. Formerly known as “the Stratosphere,” it's been a landmark on the Las Vegas skyline since 1996, and is visible from almost anywhere in the metropolitan area as well as from local flight paths.

As hundreds of thousands of fans arrived for Super Bowl LVIII, we would welcome them by transforming the STRAT into an iconic Tequila Don Julio 1942 bottle, using projection mapping to make the brand the first thing people saw before joining the party. Then we would make sure that the brand would accompany them everywhere they celebrated. From the skyline to the nightclub, Don Julio would stand tall above the fierce Super Bowl competition.

For most Americans, attending the Super Bowl is an unparalleled event. And like all events of this magnitude, price increases are expected. So within this context, a higher priced tequila—especially one synonymous with luxury celebration—has a perfect opportunity to bring its aspirational lifestyle to life. A premium experience demands a premium spirit, especially when the average visitor is well-heeled and looking to spend money on a good time.

Creating a memorable and attention-grabbing moment for 1942 during the Super Bowl would need an approach as smooth as Don Julio’s signature recipe. Our serving of Don Julio would rely on three strategic legs. One, stand out from the predictable advertising crowd by making a lasting impression. Two, use projection technology to bring our vision to life. Three, leverage the iconicity of the event, city, and brand to create the ultimate luxury celebration.

For the first time in its 28-year history, the STRAT was projection mapped, transforming the landmark into a towering Don Julio 1942 tequila bottle for the 2024 Super Bowl. From Thursday, February 8th through Sunday’s Big Game, 63 projectors, mounted strategically from scaffolding across Las Vegas, cast 1,890,000 lumens and reimagined the Las Vegas skyline.

Six months in advance, we combined Google Earth data with the 1942 bottle’s dimensions to create 3D VR mockups, visualizing the activation from different vantage points. We secured municipal approvals and spent months secretly optimizing the projections for prime viewing experience.

Our out-of-home marked an anchor point for an ecosystem of brand marketing initiatives. From inviting the hottest celebrities and entertainers to party with us, taking over 28 nightclubs across the Vegas Strip, to PR, social and influencer programs across Instagram, TikTok, and X, we would make ourselves the talk of the town.

BUZZ

• The STRAT activation lifted positive consumer awareness by +34% from February 8–12, putting the brand +106 net buzz points above all broadcast alcohol advertisers including beer brands who are major Super Bowl ad competitors*

• Don Julio saw the highest single day increase (Saturday to Super Bowl Sunday) of net buzz score against all beer Super Bowl broadcast advertisers (Budweiser, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Michelob Ultra, Bud Light), jumping +68% versus -13% for beer overall*

*(YouGov)

MEDIA

• 35.4MM+ earned social impressions, reaching 22.1MM social accounts (+135% YoY)

• 470.9MM earned media impressions (+98.6% YoY)

SALES

• +96.7% growth in same week sales YoY, both on- and off-premise

• +62% YoY in bottle depletions—cases sold to retailers by a distributor—for February 2024

• +450% higher in sales with key local-market accounts (vs. the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix held three months earlier)