How can Ghost—a bold, spicy tequila brand with a scrappy budget—steal the spotlight from Big Tequila on a day like Day of the Dead? We knew we had to really shake things up to turn heads (raise awareness) and win hearts (build brand affinity).
Day of the Dead should serve as a celebration for the fastest-growing spirits category in the US. But somewhere along the way, big tequila brands lost the plot and purpose, flooding Day of the Dead with the same overdone parties covered in sugar skulls, poorly decorated ofrendas and tacky cocktail menus full of bland margaritas.
Our strategy was to breathe life back into the holiday and disrupt the category in a way that is authentic to who we are—a Perfectly Spicy tequila from Boston.
We knew we had to bring the spice because Ghost Tequila offers the perfect hit of heat, never bland or boring. We couldn’t revolutionize what Americans expect from Day of the Dead. And we didn’t have the right to lean into tradition. But we COULD have some fun with it. We had to do something to stand out.
Day Of The Dead is a chance to gather and remember someone who has died. So we killed the drink that has become a staple of this holiday: the classic margarita. A sad farewell & f**k off to America’s No.1 cocktail. Replacing it with its perfectly spicy alternative.
Because life’s too short not to be spicy.
We didn’t just kill off any Margarita. We killed off the traditional, regular, expected, boring Margarita and replaced it with Ghost’s Perfectly Spicy Margarita, made for an audience looking for big flavors, unforgettable moments, and the chance to live life to the fullest.
Our campaign came in two parts:
First, a nationwide announcement and a multi-channel strategy to spread the news. We invited consumers to join the campaign with a bold, unexpected full-page obituary in the Boston Herald declaring the "Death of The Margarita." Our “spicy squad” of comedic micro to macro influencers helped spread the news, elevated interest, encouraged takes on the traditional margarita versus our Perfectly Spicy Margarita, and strengthened brand affinity by engaging their audiences.
Next, the narrative came to life with an actual funeral held in a real church, laying the traditional Margarita to rest and celebrating the spicy Margarita’s rise. We invited our influencers and consumers to join in and we expanded the brand’s reach through strategic paid media and PR coverage.
This multi-touchpoint experience drove significant traction, making this an unforgettable moment for the brand and a cultural nod to the Ghost Perfectly Spicy Margarita.
Our content results showed that we increased Brand Awareness…
…and raised Brand Affinity.
These above benchmark numbers show that our brand experience not only resonated with the guests who attended the event but that it had greater reach and impact.
