Jose Cuervo: League Of The Notorious
Giving an Iconic Tequila Brand Its Edge Back______________________________________
Role: Concept, Creative Direction, Art Direction, Client Presentations
Role: Concept, Creative Direction, Art Direction, Client Presentations
The Challenge
Jose Cuervo was a legendary tequila brand losing its edge. Years of declining sales had eroded its standing, with some bars relegating it to the bottom shelf and well.
The brief from Diageo's senior leadership was blunt: the brand needed its swagger back. Our challenge was to make Cuervo dramatically cooler and more desirable to a new generation of consumers, while competing for attention during a high-stakes agency consolidation.
The Creative Idea
What if Jose Cuervo wasn't just a tequila, but a secret club you desperately wanted to join?
Building on the brand's Live Notoriously Well campaign, we created The League of the Notorious, a secret society designed to give Cuervo a new sense of attitude, intrigue and exclusivity. Think the elite mystique of Yale's Skull and Bones with the rebellious edge of HBO’s Sons of Anarchy.
Rather than repeat the traditional tequila playbook, we built a world consumers could enter and explore. Digital experiences, GPS-based interactions, augmented reality, social content and live activations brought the League to life, extending the above-the-line campaign into a more immersive, participatory brand experience.
The ambition was simple: make Jose Cuervo a brand people wanted to be associated with, not just another bottle behind the bar.
The Results
• Global sales increased by +27%
• Grew social media brand mentions by +315%
• Expanded brand relevance among younger audiences by +62%
The Impact
The League of the Notorious gave Jose Cuervo a bold new way to express its personality and connect with consumers. By turning the brand's attitude into a world people could participate in, the campaign pushed Cuervo beyond conventional tequila advertising and helped restore its appeal with a younger audience.