TORONTO, May 20, 2014 /CNW/ - Everyone has a story. The BACARDÍ brand and family's story can be summed up as: "Bacardi Untameable Since 1862." With more than 150 years of uncompromised passion triumphing against extraordinary odds, BACARDÍ is the rum brand with tales where the truth is better than any fiction. Fearlessly honoring its legacy, the brand with "Irrepressible Spirit" written in its DNA, today announced the launch of "BACARDÍ Untameable Since 1862" in Canada. This, as part of the new global marketing campaign that tells the stories behind BACARDÍ and its origins in Cuba, while inspiring consumers to embrace life and live boldly to showcase their own "Irrepressible Spirit."
In tribute to the "Irrepressible Spirit" of the BACARDÍ brand and family, Bacardi Canada Inc. will mount a series of high touch consumer initiatives throughout the 2014 year in tandem with its global marketing and advertising campaign.
To kick off celebrations today, Cuban Independence Day, BACARDÍ will roll out samplings of its iconic and original BACARDÍ Cuba Libre cocktail to guests of VIP theatres in Toronto (Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas), Vancouver (Cineplex Odeon Abbotsford), and Montreal (Cinéma Cineplex Odeon Brossard) during releases of top blockbuster films this spring and summer. Movie viewers will also get the first glimpse of the "BACARDÍ Untameable Since 1862" television advertisements.
In addition to the BACARDÍ Cuba Libre VIP theatre cocktail samplings, the Canadian BACARDÍ platform will be activated through a fully integrated marketing campaign that includes media partners such as The Score, Sportsnet, TSN, RDS, CTV, Comedy Network, Toronto FC, Xbox, College Humor, The Chive, among others.
In July 2014, to celebrate the integrity of its origins and salute the passion of Canadians, BACARDÍ will launch the BACARDÍ Festival Libre, a multi-day festival in Toronto followed by consecutive regional events across Canada. Each event is inspired by the trials and tribulations experienced by the original Bacardi family, from earthquakes and fires, to prohibition and Cuban exile.
The first event will run from July 3, 2014 through July 6, 2014, where the BACARDÍ Festival Libre will take over The Distillery Historic District for five days of live music, dancing, local artisans and vendors, sampling and Cuban food stations, to tell the unique and authentic story of the Bacardi family, while celebrating rum cocktail culture. At each regional event, slated for Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, Canadians will be immersed in the rich history of the BACARDÍ brand and heritage.
Additionally, from June to October 2014, BACARDÍ will engage in a series of consumer sampling experiential events to help millennials connect with their "Irrepressible Spirit" across Canada, while reintroducing and sampling the famed and original BACARDÍ Cuba Libre in a branded, aged-metal, yet modern proprietary tumbler. Past partnerships with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto FC, the Edmonton Eskimos, and music events with Live Nation's Digital Dreams Music Festival and VELD, have been renewed for the 2014 spring and summer season to further engage BACARDÍ fans. BACARDÍ Rums Canadian Ambassador, globally trained and internationally respected mixologist, Trevor Burnett, will be on-hand at various Canadian consumer and trade on-premise initiatives to help promote the brand's cocktail culture and visibility.
"The Canadian roll out of "BACARDÍ Untameable Since 1862" will see strong support in all marketing and advertising sectors, from TV and traditional out of home, to building projections and guerilla marketing, to branded car experiences," said Nadine Iacocca, Brand Director – Rums, Bacardi Canada Inc. "Creative was developed globally with local adapts made. The platform embodies the integrity and passion of the Bacardi family that sustained our rum brand since the mid 1800's. Each component of the campaign is designed to engage the millennial consumer to pursue their passions no matter what—much like the Bacardi family did—encouraging camaraderie and strength of character."
The ads will feature headlines such as "True Passion Can't Be Tamed" and "Founded in Cuba, Enjoyed in Exile." They showcase how the Bacardí family had the original irrepressible spirit to overcome earthquakes, fire, war, exile and revolution—none of which could defeat their spirit, because "True Passion Can't Be Tamed." Embodying the true grit and determination that sustained the family's brand and helped it thrive, the ads project a realism that consumers can identify with and relate back to their own struggles living in a risk-averse world.
Television spots, 15-, 30- and 60- seconds long, named "Procession" for their frame-by-frame timeline and the sequence of events the viewer experiences, were directed by award-winning Dante Ariola, starring actor, Jordi Mollà, and featuring the voiceover talents of actor Jason Isaacs. Filmed on location at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ouro Preto, Brazil, the TV advertisements are highly stylized and have a blockbuster movie feel.
"The global branding and creative is impactful and resonates with consumers who see themselves as a catalyst for positive change, either in their own life or on a larger scale," said Iacocca. "Each element of the campaign pays tribute to the 'Irrepressible Spirit' within all of us. On a global platform, BACARDÍ Canada [Inc.] is proud to align under one powerful message rooted in an authentic brand history."
The Canadian advertising launch, BACARDÍ Festival Libre and other consumer events follow the successful November 2013 launch of the BACARDÍ global marketing campaign, "BACARDÍ Untameable Since 1862," which aimed to unite the brand internationally. The campaign launched in the United States and Mexico in November 2013, and India and Australia in December 2014.
The new campaign pays tribute to Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, who had the vision, 152 years ago, to blaze a new path and add steps never before used in rum making to create rum as the world knows it today. With the same pioneering soul of its founder, and in remembrance of its humble origins and beginnings in Santiago de Cuba in 1862, BACARDÍ rum will face the future with a bat logo inspired from the past.
Looking deep into the BACARDÍ archives to uncover the treasured, authentic, artisan bat designs over the past 152 years, the new logo is a creation inspired by BACARDÍ bat hand-drawn designs from the early 1900s. It stays true to the integrity of the original symbol, which in Cuban and Spanish heritage represents good luck, good fortune and family unity.
The BACARDÍ word mark has also been updated, influenced by the Cuban Art Deco style from the late 1920s to early 1930s. The most famous example of this Art Deco style is the former Bacardi sales office in Havana known as El Edificio Bacardí (The Bacardí Building). To this day, the 11-story building remains crowned by a BACARDÍ bronze bat and emblazed with the Art Deco stylized typeface.
BACARDÍ Canada Inc. engaged its Agency of Record, Community, to adapt local executions of the advertising campaign across all media channels while ensuring activities are aligned with global marketing direction. Community also develops and executes all grassroots and experiential initiatives for the Canadian market.
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For more information on "BACARDÍ Untameable Since 1862," BACARDÍ rum and cocktail recipes, visit Bacardi.com
"BACARDÍ Untameable Since 1862" advertisements, imagery and behind-the-scenes content can be viewed via Bacardimediacentre.com.
About Bacardi Canada Inc.
Bacardi Canada Inc. is the Canadian import and distribution arm of one of the world's leading spirits and wine producers. The company boasts a portfolio of some of the most recognized and top-selling spirits brands in the Canada including BACARDÍ® rum, the world's most awarded and best-selling premium rum; GREY GOOSE® Vodka; DEWAR'S® Blended Scotch Whisky; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin; CAZADORES® 100 percent blue agave tequila; and MARTINI® vermouth.
About BACARDÍ Rum
The World's Most Awarded Rum In 1862, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó revolutionized the spirits industry when he created a light-bodied rum with a particularly smooth taste – BACARDÍ. The unique taste of BACARDÍ rum inspired cocktail pioneers to invent some of the world's most famous recipes including the BACARDÍ Mojito, the BACARDÍ Daiquirí, the BACARDÍ Cuba Libre, the BACARDÍ Piña Colada and the BACARDÍ Presidente. BACARDÍ rum is the world's most awarded spirit, with more than 550 awards for quality, taste and innovation. Today, BACARDÍ rum is made in Puerto Rico and Mexico where it is crafted to ensure the taste remains the same today as it did when it was first blended in 1862. www.bacardi.com
The BACARDÍ® brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
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BACARDÍ, BACARDÍ UNTAMEABLE AND THE BAT DEVICE ARE TRADEMARKS OF BACARDI & COMPANY LIMITED
Video with caption: "30 Second Television Spot for global 'BACARDI Untameable Since 1862' marketing platform launching today in Canada.". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20140520_C3547_VIDEO_EN_2210.mp4&poster=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos.newswire.ca%2Fimages%2F20140520_C3547_VIDEO_EN_2210.jpg&order=1&jdd=20140520&cnum=C3547
SOURCE: Bacardi Canada Inc.
For more information, image, logos or interviews, please contact, Shannon Law, Faulhaber Communications, [email protected]
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