As the first spirits brand ever integrated into an Oscars live broadcast, Don Julio took center stage at the most prestigious awards show in the world. As a brand synonymous with luxury celebration, we teamed up with our A-list friends to raise a bottle of 1942 with Hollywood’s elite and 19.5M viewers at home.

By leveraging more than a decade of celebrity partnerships and boundary-pushing ideation, we turned the often-formulaic launch of another tequila offering into an unmissable global event.

The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are the most renowned and widely watched awards show in the entertainment industry. They are a cultural phenomenon that attracts millions of viewers worldwide (surpassing high expectations at 19.5M viewers in 2024 in the US, the highest in four years).

From the iconic red carpet to the prestigious parties, the star-studded Oscars celebrate the most creative and talented people in entertainment on their biggest night.

For luxury brands, the Oscars presents a unique opportunity to reach an engaged, affluent, and diverse audience. However, the event has strict regulations regarding advertising and brand integrations, especially for spirits, making it almost impossible for companies to secure a presence during the live broadcast. Despite this, the Oscars became a backdrop for Don Julio to turn the launch of a miniature alcohol bottle into a global phenomenon.

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 center stage during the Oscars when Jimmy Kimmel and his right-hand man, Guillermo Rodriguez, surprised Best Actor nominee Colman Domingo (also a Diageo partner) with a Don Julio margarita. The audience was invited to join the toast with 3,000 50ml bottles of 1942 in a seamlessly integrated brand activation.

To amplify the impact during the following commercial break, Don Julio premiered its new Por Amor :60 spot, and later, on the red carpet, Guillermo toasted celebrities with 1942, generating buzz and content for the Jimmy Kimmel Live post-Oscars 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.

Out-of-home, press outreach, organic content distribution, search, influencer partnerships, and paid social ensured 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 the brand would need to show up authentically. Not just within ads, but within the ceremony itself.

By leveraging a partnership with Jimmy Kimmel cultivated over 13 years, the Oscars host could showcase the brand as the pinnacle of luxury celebration—in front of millions of viewers, authentically, 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.

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.

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.

The live integration put the tequila centerstage at the world's most iconic entertainment event, reminding existing fans and new households alike how Don Julio can bring glitz and glamor to even the most luxurious of celebrations.