Just walked past this image on the side of a truck. Is this still the most iconic image in alcohol today? Powerful #brand stories often aren’t literal. They convey an essence. This image has all the undertones - ruggedness, masculinity, sophistication, sex-appeal, and even provenance and craft (as they ride through the highlands of Jalisco). There is no moment of celebration, no one is drinking…they are actually driving! (A big no-no with alcohol). But we hardly notice, entranced in the story. It looks like they rode down from California on Kerouac-esque guys trip and decided to start a tequila company. Meanwhile,if we stop to rationalize, of course we know this is all very staged. In 2017, the brand was sold to Diageo for $1B. I would argue a lot of that success is thanks to this image. #Brands provide powerful subconscious signals to consumers & customers. In 2024, let’s bravely cultivate #brand vibes; let’s strive to show, rather than tell. #branding #creativity #brandidentity
Interesting. It’s hard to decouple this from their celebrity. Would it have anywhere near this level of the potency, of appeal, if it wasn’t them? And if they hadn’t been selling so hard outside this? Not sure.
Well put. It takes a keen eye for the strategy of design to unwrap the undertones that make an image or design useful and on-brand.
SaaS Sales & Growth Leader | Executive Brand Strategist | MBA | 15 years of experience working with the world's leading brands
8moJennifer Bonhomme I love your take on this (and completely agree with you) The show, don't tell ethos is in full effect here and that's exactly why it works so well ... and keeps working for the brand years after the image was set free in the world. One thing I just noticed in this image for the first time (and through the lens of 2024): it almost looks AI-generated. ...Maybe george and Randy were more ahead of their time than we knew! 😆 #brand vibes, hell yes