Dive Brief:
- Tequila brand Jose Cuervo is helping people get ready for Cinco de Mayo with "Cinco-Cise," a satirical workout video series starring actor James Van Der Beek, the company announced in a news release.
- Because Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday this year — and won't do so again until 2029 — Jose Cuervo is calling for a 24-hour celebration. The workout videos feature a circuit-training program focusing on target areas that make for a successful celebration: nourishment, hydration and endurance.
- The videos show people working out by shaking a cocktail, doing bicep curls with bottles of tequila and doing sit-ups for a guacamole-dipped chip fed to them by Van Der Beek. The campaign additionally includes custom cocktails inspired by fitness trends, social content, a microsite and a finish line event celebrating the season of training.
Dive Insight:
Jose Cuervo is having fun with the spike in popularity of intense, lifestyle-focused fitness regimens like Crossfit and Soul Cycle while also reminding people of its brand name ahead of the Cinco De Mayo holiday — historically a huge day for sales for tequila, as the liquor is frequently a key ingredient in margaritas. This will likely be the case and then some this year due to Cinco De Mayo's unusual falling on a Saturday, when festive-minded consumers are less likely to be concerned about showing up for work the next day — a factor Cinco-Cise's creative plays into by trying to amp people up for an exhausting day of drinking.
Casting Van Der Beek fits into the satirical spirit of the campaign as well, as the actor has had a second career wind choosing funnier roles than his star-making turn on "Dawson's Creek." In the sitcom "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," he played a smarmy, ego-centric fictionalized version of himself, and he currently stars on a show as a parodic, lunkheaded version of the popular DJ and music producer Diplo. Van Der Beek's presence may also resonate with older millennial women who remember the '90s hit "Dawson's Creek," which recently had a cast member reunion for Entertainment Weekly's March cover shoot, prompting buzz of a possible revival.
Women have traditionally been ignored by alcohol brands, but as their booze consumption keeps growing, marketers are starting to catch up. AB InBev began marketing its Lime-A-Rita line as a brand "for women, by women" last year with a campaign directed by Tricia Block of "Gossip Girl," "Orange is the New Black" and "Girls," which are all shows mostly watched by women. Several Diageo brands have also launched gender-inclusive campaigns more recently, such as Smirnoff's partnership Spotify to promote female musicians in listeners' playlists.
