The Sound of Rum
Bacardi
Issue 54 | March 2020
Agency
AMV BBDO
Creative Team
Creative team Julia Merino, Greg Farrington
Production Team
Producers Joe Sloane, Cathy Olmedillas Production Companies 1st Avenue Machine, MassiveMusic
Other Credits
Account Director Matt Thomas Media Planner Paula Quaglietta Client Global Chief Marketing Officer John Burke Global SVP Marketing Ned Duggen Regional Brand Director Fabio Ruffet Assistant Brand Manager Sara Quinn
Date
September 2019
Background
The task was to bring to life Bacardi’s distinct Caribbean ‘Sound of Rum’ identity, in a way that celebrated the craft and personality of their bartenders as well as the cocktail making process. Rather than just showing delicious cocktail-making, the campaign needed to reflect the brand’s bold ‘Do What Moves You’ strategy.
Idea
Bacardi’s Sound of Rum was not only a blend of dancehall, reggae, hip hop and electronic music, it was also the sound of the ingredients and the tools used to prepare a Bacardi cocktail. It was the passion of the bartender, the ambience of the bar and the energy of the people that populated it.
The Bacardi bartenders were not just bartenders, they were contemporary artists. They did not mix rum, they played with tasting notes. They didn’t prepare cocktails so much as deliver experiences.
So, all the cocktail-making sounds were recorded live on set and the sounds mixed to create the music.
The clinking of the boxes of rum, the whirring of the fan, the chipping of ice, and the bartenders’ tapping feet, everything the viewer saw contributed to the track.
Bringing musical authenticity to the music, international hip-hop star Swizz Beatz was executive producer.
Results
Undeclared.
Our Thoughts
This idea is all about blending. Blending music and different ingredients to make for a very happy Happy Hour. But it’s also part of a blended marketing strategy.
It’s the latest iteration in Bacardi’s alwayson ‘Do what moves you’ strategy and came with dance classes and live events to turn it into an authentic Caribbean experience.
The difficulty in this market, though, is winning credibility.
And this campaign pulls it off neatly by getting five top bartenders from around the world to star in the video.
You can’t underestimate the influence of Lawrence Gregory, Julia Rahn, Raysa Straal, Adrien Nino and Nicole Fas in the world of mixology.
Each has created their own cocktail to embody the Sound of Rum and Gregory’s ‘Flamingo Domingo’ is currently available at the bar of The Curtain Hotel in Shoreditch.
Now this is integration for you.