The Brief:
Bacardi has been bringing people together since 1862. Amongst other big historical events, Bacardi’s history is intertwined with the Prohibition Law that was passed in the 1920s that prohibited the sale of alcohol in the United States. During this time America’s rich and famous escaped to nearby Cuba.
Bacardi even had an advertising campaign at the time enticing people to visit Cuba to “escape the drought” and continue the party. Ordinary Americans ended up having their own underground parties at home, which usually ended with the cops breaking things up. Our brief was to celebrate the brand’s 150th celebrations in South Africa and educate consumers on its heritage.
What we did:
We created the Bacardi Prohibition Party and invited people to party like it was the 1920s.
The target market: urbanites, aged 25 – 35, LSM 8-10 looking for a good time and to be entertained.
Two events were held, one at Casa Blanca (Cape Town) and one at Taboo (Johannesburg) with a radio ad on 5FM to invite people to dress up and join the party. The music line-up included among others SAMA winners Mi Casa and Poppy Ntshongwana on the decks. In the run-up to the event the musicians were styled in 1920s attire and photographed to create additional media collateral.
The experience
The majority of the crowd dressed the part on the night. They arrived to the sound of a swing band in the club foyer and swing dancers. Their photos were taken in a 1920s-style photo booth with period props. The artists arrived in vintage cars to the backdrop of classic film scenes projected outside the club.
Bacardi flowed and people danced to the opening DJs, eagerly awaiting Mi Casa to take to the stage. At 12am sirens could be heard throughout the club, the music stopped and dancers dressed as cops arrived to break up the party. They cuffed the Mi Casa guys and led them outside to a stage – where they started their performance.
On their way out, guests were asked to type in their details onto an iPad and pose for a photo with a police mugshot-style backdrop. After each photo was taken it was automatically uploaded to Facebook. Media coverage An interview with Mi Casa and scenes from the event was featured on SABC3’s Top Billing.
The event was mentioned on various national and regional radio stations. Photos of the night appeared on Twitter and Facebook and people that attended started making the photobooth photos their Facebook profile photos.