"Bacardi By Night" Ad Campaign - Tyson Dion Com 320-02 Principles of Advertising Dr. Guillermo Avila-Saavedra 12/12/12

 

              “Bacardi By Night”
                Ad Campaign
       	
  
       Tyson Dion

       Com 320-02 Principles of Advertising
       Dr. Guillermo Avila-Saavedra
       12/12/12 	
  
	
  

Table	
  of	
  Contents	
  
	
  
I.     INTRODUCTION

II.    CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND

III.   DESCRIPTION & ANALYSIS

IV.    RESULTS

V.     CONCLUSION

VI.    APPENDICES

VII.   WORKS CITED	
  

	
  

I.      INTRODUCTION	
  

   In 1998, Bacardi USA, the USA subsidiary of Bacardi Ltd., one of the world's largest

sellers of spirits, launched a $15 million "Bacardi by Night" ad campaign. The Bacardi

company was established in 1862 in Cuba. It began as a family-run distillery. “By

1916, Bacardi established a U.S. subsidiary in New York. Presently, the U.S. subsidiary

is the largest subsidiary of Bacardi and accounts for about 40% of corporate profits”.

(Sargent) The campaign showed Bacardi liquors providing a relief from everyone's

boring life, and bringing out a person's real self. It showed young people in sexy

clothes, in sexy situations, enjoying drinks made by Bacardi. Although this ad campaign

worked, and Bacardi's sales increased, it received a lot of criticism. Many critics

accused Bacardi of targeting young people, objectifying women, and trying to make

drinking sexy. The night time Bacardi drinkers were the "real" selves, as opposed to

their daytime personas, and this was shown to be preferable to the "daytime" selves,

much more fun and much "cooler". Everyone should be cool, and to do this they just

had to enjoy "Bacardi by Night".

   II. CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND

   The "Bacardi By Night" campaign was launched by Bacardi USA in 1998 and

specifically targets young adults. (Sargent) It was a 15 million dollar campaign that was

designed to only appear in magazines, not in radio or television. Bacardi put this

restriction on itself in order to avoid too many under-aged viewers. It appeared in a total

of 33 magazines. However, in late 2002, Bacardi decided to expand it's marketing efforts

to television. Again, they decided to assign between $15-20 billion dollars to run

Television spots on cable and while staying away from network television. The brand and

product being advertised and the campaign that was developed was for Bacardi Rum.

   In 1998, the advertising agency of Ammirati Puris Lintas of New York developed the

marketing campaign "Bacardi By Night". They developed the strategy and were

responsible for the advertisements that would run in 33 to 35 targeted magazines. At the

same time, Burrell Communications Group of Chicago and Castor Group of New York

were responsible for developing branches into the African-American and Hispanic

markets. Burrell Communications and Castor Group specialize in diversity. They were

hired to be diverse business building agencies. They are qualified agencies because they

can handle marketing and advertising to the African-American and Hispanic consumer.

In 2002, Bacardi USA called on davidandgoliath for another creative branding project but

this time it involved television. Bacardi USA was seeking to capitalize on the success

of the "Bacardi By Night" magazine campaign. Therefore, they turned to

davidandgoliath to develop the Television spots. The 2002 campaign would also involve

multiple creative agencies. The firm of Avrett, Free & Ginsberg of New York would

develop the TV ads using the "Bacardi By Night" theme. A company called Momentum

that was based in St.Louis was retained to handle branding and promotional work.

       This campaign for Bacardi began after they finished with the "Just Add Bacardi"

campaign, that ran for five years. There are 9 different advertisements, each of the nine

ads reads the name of some ordinary occupation followed by the words “By Day”…and

then “Bacardi By Night”. Some refer to this campaign as "The Real You”

campaign. “The aim of the campaign is to associate Bacardi with a ‘real self, separate

from the fake self of obligation. Bacardi’s marketing manager, Marco Perez, stated that

the message of the campaign is Bacardi is the real you, the person who comes out at night

after doing the things you’ve got to do”. (Arndorfer, 1998)

  As of 1996, liquor sales in the United States had flattened out. During the 1980's the

people of the United States became more health-conscious and liquor sales were in

decline. Working out became the craze instead of going out for cocktails after work or

with friends. However, in 1997-98 industry leaders and experts started to see a rise in the

amount of liquor people were consuming. "I think we hit bottom in 1996. Now,

consumption is moving up again and 65 percent of that is white spirits -- rum, vodka,

gin," Eduardo Sardina, president and CEO of Bacardi-Martini USA said, “speaking in his

office overlooking Miami's Biscayne Bay. The industry is pretty flat right now, but there

(are) signs that we might see conservative growth. I don't think we can speak of miracles,

but that's better than the 2 percent declines we were seeing.” (MacSwan, 1998) Bacardi

decided to launch this new campaign due to this increase in liquor consumption and

decided the best target market was young adults. Another initiative for developing this

campaign was to change image and consumer behavior. Bacardi USA wanted to escape

the brands image of being a vacation drink.

   The liquor company had very specific objectives in mind when they created “Bacardi

By Night”. The main of objectives of the 1998 magazine and 2002 television campaigns

were as follows:

• Target young adults.

• Increase sales and revenues.

• Change brand image of being a vacation drink.

• Establish a new media presence using Television.

III.      DESCRIPTION	
  &	
  ANALYSIS	
  

    The 1998 advertisements developed for the "Bacardi By Night" campaign focused on

magazines. It was not until 2002 that Television ads were created to further promote the

brand. For this case study, I will describe and analyze one print advertisement and one

Television advertisement that will more than adequately provide an understanding of the

campaigns advertisements.

   One of the print advertisements in Appendix A, is a photograph of a very attractive

girl’s back and buttocks, with barely any clothing covering her, and what is covering her

is beige-colored, so at first glance it could appear that she actually has no clothing

on. The photograph only shows the woman from her upper back to her buttocks. You can

see a small amount of her light, wet hair on her back and left shoulder. Her right arm is

bent a little bit, an she is holding a glass with ice and possibly a clear liquid in it. In front

of her right arm you can see a good amount of her barely covered breast.

           Her lower back is completely bare, with a Bacardi symbol tattoo right above the

crease of her buttocks. The beige bottom piece she is wearing hangs pretty low on her

hips, again almost revealing the line in her buttocks. Her body is very tan and looks wet

or sweaty, as does her hair. You cannot see her face or head at all. Across the bottom of

the ad, in black font with a yellow background, it reads “LIBRARIAN BY DAY.” Then

it shows the Bacardi symbol. Then in yellow font with a black background, it reads

“BACARDI BY NIGHT”. About an inch and a half of the bottom is for the Bacardi logo

across the center, and underneath it reads ESTd 1862. The writing is in yellow, and the

background is a similar red like the background above. On the bottom right corner is a

slanted image of a Bacardi bottle, that you cannot see either the very top of, or very

bottom of.

       The television ad for Bacardi By Night is the epitome of the phrase "sex sells." It

begins with three men appearing to be in their late 20's. They ride up an elevator, in

which, of course, the button for the floor they are going to is the Bacardi symbol. When

they arrive at their floor, the room opens up to a huge club scene. There is a wall-sized

glowing Bacardi symbol on one wall. There is a large crowd of people, all of which are

having an extremely good time, are extremely attractive, and dressed in sexually

provocative ways. The Bacardi bottle, and Bacardi symbol, is everywhere. There are a

series of very quick images, all portraying the Bacardi symbol in some way, and all with

some kind of sexually charged message. There are images of two women on either side of

a guy, dancing very sexually. There are images of one man and one woman in a very

sexual position about to kiss. There is lots of skin showing, which is shiny and glowing

from sweat. Every image of the people in the club is highly sexualized. There is a man

who is dancing almost in a break-dance style, and he creates with his arms the Bacardi

symbol in the air, like fire. There is no dialogue, just loud club-scene music playing

throughout the ad. This television ad is a perfect representation of the company's

objectives. It smoothly translates the print campaign to television, and gives Bacardi the

presence they were looking for on television.

       As previously mentioned, the 1998 "Bacardi By Night" campaign designed

by Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York was intended as a print campaign. They targeted

life-style magazines to position the brand to young adults growing tired of their boring

day jobs. For example, another ad from this campaign highlights a woman's pierced

navel, and shows the words “Banker By Day, Bacardi By Night.”

Some events did occur as a result of this campaign. One particular promotional

event was called the "Bacardi By Night Comedy Tour”. This event was done to promote

the Bacardi-Martini USA brand in urban environments. It began in 1998 after the launch

of the "Bacardi by Night" campaign. Due to the first year’s success of the comedy tour

events, Burrell Communications decided to double the efforts in 1999. "The 18-city

competition, up from 10 cities last summer, will be supported with 60-second radio spots,

print ads and and on-premise promotions, via Burrell Communications Group, Chicago.

The five-phase series moves from open-mike contests to regional competitions to a

championship laugh-out yielding a king of comedy to be crowned in the L.A. finale in

February. An on-and off-premise sweeps will dangle an all-expense-paid trip for two to

the finale." (Brandweek, 04/05/99, Vol. 40 Issue 14, p16, 1/8p)

   I can conclude from my research that Bacardi did not make any special changes to it's

bottle or provide any special packaging for this campaign. However, other IMC efforts

were designed as a result of the initial print offering. As referenced above, 60 radio spots

were designed to promote the comedy tour and on-premise postcards were created to

promote the campaign. Then, in December of 1998, Bacardi ventured into new territory.

According to a company spokeswoman, "Bacardi did something it had never done

before." (Paynter, 1998) It contacted a 35 year-old woman named Jill Tully who placed a

personal ad on a Seattle billboard. The ad read, "`Seeking: Spontaneous, athletic man,

playful, 33-38. Professional by day, adventurous by night, looking for long-term

relationship”. (Paynter, 1998) Bacardi decided to make her wish come true with

Christmas fast approaching. They decided to contact Jill Tully and make her an offer she

could not refuse. They offered to buy her fun new clothes, scope out the finest restaurants

in Seattle for her dates, pick up the tab for these dates, pay for a facial and complete

makeover, and of course stock her home-made bar with Bacardi spirits. Bacardi moved

on this because, "the billboard struck the company as a perfect reflection of the target

market. Its wording even echoes a series of ads Bacardi is now running, using the same

'by day-by night' contrast Tully employed in hers". (Paynter, 1998) In this case, Bacardi

USA experimented with non-traditional forms of advertising. Although not your classic

product placement example, this particular idea would fall somewhere under product

placement and guerilla marketing.

   IV.     RESULTS

   Along with The "Bacardi By Night" campaign came criticism from consumers, the

general public, and other liquor companies. Critics accuse the liquor business of creating

ads depicting slick and sexy images to promote underage drinking. Gender messages are

strong in this series of "Bacardi by Night" ads. The entire series values heterosexuality,

women in objectified positions, or at least very sexual positions. The message that after

your ordinary day at work, you can drink Bacardi and transform into these extremely

attractive, sexual, fun, lively people is in each of the ads. In 2003, a company called

Allied Domecq chose a different path. They chose to self-regulate, instead of going along

with the perceived notion that, "sex sells". Allied Domecq, is the owner of brands like

Sauza, Stolichnaya, Malibu and Kahlúa. They created a board to view company

advertisements before they were released. "If we say no to a particular campaign, it

doesn't run," said board member Lisa Graham Keegan, an educational consultant and a

former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. Board members say that on

numerous occasions they have vetoed ads that they deemed too risqué or

inappropriate. Ms. Keegan said the board was likely to reject any ad that was overtly

sexual or suggests that drinking alcohol would make people act wild and crazy.

According to the report, she and other board members vetoed a magazine ad featuring a

man and a woman dancing suggestively on a table at a dinner party". (Warner, 2005)

Bacardi and many other liquor companies do not hold this view and over the years have

produced extremely sexual advertisements.

   In 2003, a class action lawsuit was brought against the alcohol industry. Bacardi USA

was named in the suit. "The suit accuses brewers Coors Brewing Co. and Heineken;

distilled spirits makers Mark Anthony Brands (maker of Mike's Hard Lemonade),

Bacardi USA, Bacardi Group, Brown-Forman, Diageo and Kobrand (maker of Alize

cognac); and the Beer Institute of a "long-running, sophisticated and deceptive scheme ...

to market alcoholic beverages to children and other underage consumers." (Teinowitz,

2003) The suit specifically mentions the "Bacardi By Night" campaign. The excerpt

reads, "In its "Bacardi By Night" advertising campaign, defendant Bacardi places

advertisements in Stuff, FHM, and Spin magazines (all of which are disproportionately

read by males under the age of 21) featuring themes that are highly appealing to underage

consumers, including references to video games ("made for extended play"). The

"Bacardi By Night campaign also features wild, raucous, irresponsible, and immature

behavior by models chosen to appeal to underage consumers. In one ad, a scantily clad

young woman is standing on a barstool pouring a shot of rum down the front of her chest

while a young man licks the rum off of her exposed midriff; the tag line reads:

"Vegetarian By Day. Bacardi By Night". (Hakki, 2003)

Regardless of the criticism and the lawsuits, "Bacardi By Night" was a success and

helped Bacardi achieve the objectives stated above. Bacardi USA was able to reach

young adults, increase sales and revenue, change brand image, and create a television

presence. Although it may have been unethical using deceptive and unfair ads, the

campaign theme worked to reach its target audience. "The Journal of the American

Medical Association recently reported that "conservatively, underage drinkers drank

19.7% of the alcohol consumed in the United States in 1999, accounting for $22.5

billion." That amounts to approximately 1 billion alcoholic drinks consumed by underage

drinkers every month". (Hakki, 2003) Bacardi USA and the liquor industry knows these

facts as well, this is why the "Bacardi By Night" campaign was able to succeed. Bacardi

USA also witnessed the doubling of its sales and revenues since 1997. An article written

in Wall Street Journal on December 15, 2002, states, "Bacardi USA, the company's

largest subsidiary, has seen its sales and profits double over the last five years. Last year

was the best year we ever had," Rodriquez (CEO) said." (Walker, 2002) Bacardi USA

certainly did achieve its four goals. The ad campaigns had been successful in print media,

so establishing a presence in Television was important. They achieved this goal in 2002

and 2003 by hiring the agency davidandgoliath who used Avrett Free Ginsberg to bring

the print campaign to life in television commercials. Another goal for Bacardi USA was

to change the brand image from a vacation drink to an every day liquor. The “Bacardi By

Night" campaign did an excellent job of changing its brand image. "They're a smart and

aggressive company that has done a good job of keeping their brand strong." said Bob

Keane, co-publisher of the Adams Beverage Group, a leading publications group in

spirits industry". (Walker, 2002) As Elaine Walker of the The Post and Courier said so

well in her story, "If Don Facundo Bacardi were alive today, he probably wouldn't

recognize the company he started in 1862". (Walker, 2002)

   V.      CONCLUSION

   The Bacardi by Night campaign was a success on many levels. As mentioned above,

the goals or objectives were each met. It certainly targeted young adults, but that is both a

strength and a weakness it the campaign. It was accused of promoting underage drinking,

and begs the question, how young of an adult did they want to target? It certainly profited

on the fact that sex sells, especially in America, but did it go too far in this regard? The

sexual connotations with it are so strong, including the objectification of women, that it

might have offended some of the public and turned them off to the drink. It certainly

changed Bacardi’s image of being a vacation drink, but at the expense of now being

associated with a wild sexually-charged club scene drink. One has to wonder if it lost

some of its older consumers due to this new image. It’s sales and profits did increase with

the new campaign, so in that way it was definitely a success. Overall, this campaign was

like many we see in modern society: the product sells due to the fact that it sells exactly

what its target audience wants, (young men want hot sexy young women drinking) but at

what ethical cost? On the other hand, Bacardi was not doing anything much different

than most companies are doing in today’s society: profiting on the desires of American

society.

VI.   APPENDICES

Appendix A – Example Print Ads

                                 	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
     	
  

 
http://psupopculture.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/bacardi1.jpg - “Librarian By Day”

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wSyLDVvCvE8/SpGkUhBOyHI/AAAAAAAAFCw/_HvzFKiL1C0/%5BUNSET%5D.jpg - “Banker By Day”

http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~mhall/advertisements/beer_wine_liqour/images/Bacardi-­‐-­‐
computer%20worker%20by%20day%20but%20has%20two%20women%20at%20night-­‐-­‐stuff%20men's%2001.jpg	
  -­‐	
  
“Double-­‐click	
  By	
  Day”	
  

http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~mhall/advertisements/beer_wine_liqour/images/Bacardi-­‐-­‐
trading%20floor%20by%20day,%20dancer%20at%20night-­‐-­‐various%20men's%2001.jpg	
  -­‐	
  “Trader	
  By	
  Day”	
  

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/2002-Print-Ad-Bacardi-Rum-Vegetarian-by-Day-Sexy-Party-Girl-Guy-by-Night-
/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw/$(KGrHqJ,!pgE-v7id!IlBP2h5v4Dyg~~60_35.JPG - “Vegetarian By Day”

Appendix	
  B	
  –	
  TV	
  Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rH9XzmPPOU&feature=share&list=PL55C7F78CD9F4F445

Appendix	
  C	
  –	
  Example	
  of	
  Promotional	
  Material/Events	
  

                                              	
  	
  
http://bilder.ednetz-cdn.de/bilder/flyer-plakat/a0/0000440.jpg

Appendix	
  D	
  –	
  Civil	
  Lawsuit	
  

                                             	
  

 

VII.	
  WORKS	
  CITED	
  
	
  
Arndorfer,	
  J.	
  B.	
  (1998).	
  New	
  Barcard	
  ads	
  revel	
  in	
  night	
  life	
  to	
  skew	
  younger.	
  
Advertising	
  Age	
  ,	
  69	
  (22),	
  49.	
  

Hakki,	
  A.	
  R.	
  (2003,	
  November	
  14).	
  Hakki	
  Lawsuit.	
  Retrieved	
  from	
  cspinet.org:	
  
http://cspinet.org/booze/031114HakkiLawsuit.pdf	
  

Howard,	
  T.	
  (2000,	
  June	
  26).	
  Bacardi	
  Mulls	
  Summer	
  Push	
  to	
  TV	
  As	
  Bat	
  Icon	
  Preps	
  for	
  
New	
  Flights.	
  Brandweek	
  .	
  

Lucas,	
  T.	
  B.	
  (1998,	
  August	
  31).	
  Accounts	
  in	
  Review/2.	
  Retrieved	
  from	
  Adweek:	
  
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-­‐branding/accounts-­‐review2-­‐34378	
  

Paynter,	
  S.	
  (1998,	
  December	
  14).	
  The	
  Billboard	
  For	
  Mr.	
  Right:	
  A	
  Rum	
  Offer.	
  Seattle	
  
Post-­‐Intelligencer	
  .	
  

Sargent,	
  A.	
  (n.d.).	
  Sargent	
  Bacardi	
  Analysis.	
  Retrieved	
  from	
  Markley	
  Image	
  Archive:	
  
http://academic.reed.edu/anthro/faculty/mia/analyses/SargentBacardiAnalysis.ht
m	
  

Stewart,	
  A.	
  (2002,	
  December	
  9).	
  Bacardi	
  Gig	
  for	
  davidandgoliath.	
  Retrieved	
  from	
  
Adweek:	
  http://www.adweek.com	
  

Teinowitz,	
  i.	
  (2003,	
  11	
  24).	
  Alcohol	
  Industry	
  Sued	
  for	
  Marketing	
  to	
  Children.	
  
Retrieved	
  from	
  Advertising	
  Age:	
  http://adage.com/article/news/alcohol-­‐industry-­‐
sued-­‐marketing-­‐children/38912/	
  

Walker,	
  E.	
  (2002,	
  December	
  15).	
  Rum	
  still	
  centerpiece,	
  but	
  Bacardi	
  moving	
  way	
  
beyond	
  just	
  spirits.	
  The	
  Post	
  and	
  Courier	
  .	
  

Warner,	
  M.	
  (2005,	
  6	
  27).	
  A	
  Liquor	
  Maker	
  Keeps	
  a	
  Close	
  Watch	
  on	
  Its	
  Ads.	
  The	
  New	
  
York	
  Times	
  .