The battle between Bacardi Ltd. and the Cuban government/Pernod Ricard partnership over Havana Club stepped up a notch, with Bacardi adopting new packaging for Havana Club, announcing a national expansion, introducing a dark rum variant and launching a new brand campaign titled “The Golden Age, Aged Well.”
The new Havana Club Añejo Clásico will make its debut in Florida this June, with expansion continuing throughout the U.S. this summer.
Following the distribution in Florida, both rums will rollout nationally in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas beginning in July and August. The remaining states will start to see Havana Club in their local liquor stores and high-end restaurants in September.
History Inspires Packaging
Havana Club rum is based on the original recipe created by the Arechabala family in Cuba in 1934, capturing the exuberant spirit of the Golden Age in Havana, a period of time that spanned from the 1920s, when people flocked to the island during Prohibition, through the 1950s when everything stylish and glamorous reigned supreme.
Bottles feature a center seal which has been prominently featured on packaging and advertising since the brands inception in 1934. The crest, created by the Arechabala family, is surrounded by hand-lettered typography reminiscent of this lively, bygone time period.
“Our family could not be happier that Bacardi is launching Havana ClubAñejo Clásico, which is based on the original recipe created by the Arechabala family in 1934,” said Jose Arechabala, a great-grandson of founder Jose Arechabala Aldama.
New Advertising
Along with the new product and packaging, the brand is also introducing a new creative ad campaign, “The Golden Age, Aged Well,” which evokes the glamorous, effervescent feeling of the Golden Era in Cuba and pays tribute to the historical Cuban Golden Age heritage of Havana Club.
Tag lines for the ad campaign include “The Freedom, The Decadence, The Dazzle, The Glamour. If Only Someone Had Bottled It,” “Even A Revolution Couldn’t Topple The Rum,” and “Always True To Its Rumba Loving Soul.”
With a focus on Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Las Vegas, New York City, and Philadelphia, the advertising campaign will be executed through programmatic buying to distribute high-impact and native media including custom videos and cocktail education, reaching a sophisticated consumer through private marketplaces, geo-based spot and digital radio and mobile location. Out-of-Home advertising will be implemented throughout Miami, Fla.