Guinness UDV to drive tequila sector with José Cuervo Gold campaign

Guinness UDV is to focus marketing efforts on its premium José Cuervo Gold brand in an attempt to broaden the appeal of the entire tequila sector.A year after advising customers not to slam, Guinness UDV has switched to an "anything goes" policy and chosen the premium José Cuervo Gold to spearhead a new advertising campaign.

Although the unaged Cuervo Silver remains available, Guinness UDV's emphasis for the UK is firmly on Cuervo Gold also known as Especial, which is rested for three months prior to bottling.

While accepting that there will always be those who slam tequila, Guinness UDV is re-emphasising the flexibility of Cuervo Gold in cocktails and mixed drinks in an attempt to move tequila beyond the "cheap rocket fuel" image that continues to dominate consumer perception of the drink.

According to Josephine Villegas, the idea is to bring the UK tequila market up to speed with other countries where tequila is often accompanied by a mixer, sipped slowly and savoured. She said: "We need to encourage people to think about additional ways of enjoying tequila in order to drive usage and trial."

The new approach will be spearheaded by a Cuervo Zest cocktail made with bitter lemon and a lime wedge and designed by the Guinness UDV team."A perfectly-served Cuervo Zest is a great drink and simple to make," she added. "It has some similarities with a Margarita, and many Mexicans drink tequila in this style mixed with 'Squirt' citrus drink."

Rather than emphasising the ageing of the product, considered too big a leap for the mainstream drinker, the campaign will highlight José Cuervo Gold's flexibility as a mixer and cocktail ingredient through an on-trade education programme and a series of consumer advertisements in style magazines such as Maxim and GQ.