Rums of Puerto Rico Launches New Advertising & Marketing Campaign

Rums of Puerto Rico has announced a new $2.2 million marketing and advertising campaign in the United States entitled "Here." The campaign was developed by Group LIH in San Juan, P.R.

The campaign will debut in late October with ten 15-second television commercials produced by Alfa Recording Studio in San Juan. Each spot will feature a Puerto Rican celebrity speaking about a different aspect of Puerto Rican rum, including the history, tradition, location, quality, leadership in sales and the versatility of rum. Each celebrity will be holding a different rum cocktail from the traditional Piña Colada and Rum and Cola to the trendy Mojito with breathtaking locations of Puerto Rico as the background utilizing a definition map technique that employs a mapping and geo-location context application with high-definition satellite imagery. The campaign also includes social responsibility messages associated to responsible drinking and choosing a designated driver.

Featured celebrities include: Wilo Benet, restaurateur and owner of Pikayo and Payá restaurants in San Juan; Latin Grammy Award winners David Sanchez, saxophonist, and Nestor Torres, flutist; Lisa Thon, fashion designer; Melina Leon, singer and Latin Billboard Award winner; Alberto Marti, environmentalist; Kristina Brandi, Olympic athlete and professional tennis player; Mariem Pérez & Carlos Ruíz, motion picture directors; Shirley Rumierk, actress; and Quetzacoatl, painter.

"We want to communicate that Puerto Rican rum is of the highest quality and offers more versatility for mixing than any other spirit, both as an ingredient for cocktails and for cooking. The ads are meant to show rum enjoyed by sophisticated consumers who appreciate top shelf spirits in the most fabulous locations. The audience will be dynamically transported to our Caribbean paradise in these ads and presented with appetizing rum cocktails by our spokespersons: highly talented and respected artists, athletes, designers and socially and environmentally conscious individuals who are of Puerto Rican descent, to help us portray the unique qualities of Puerto Rico both as a rum producer and as a rum destination," said Karen Garnik, chief marketing officer for Rums of Puerto Rico. "Puerto Rico is the only country that has strict aging laws for its rum.

Puerto Rican rums are required to be aged a minimum of one year in charred white oak barrels. Gold and dark 'añejo' rums must be aged even longer. Aging imparts a smoother, more balanced taste to the spirit, which is what rum connoisseurs truly appreciate."

According to Adams Beverage Group, rum is the second largest spirit category in the U.S. behind vodka. Seventy-five percent of all rums sold in the U.S. come from Puerto Rico, totaling over 15 million cases. Three of the five top selling distilled spirits sold in the U.S. are rums from Puerto Rico: Bacardi, Captain Morgan and Castillo.

"Seven out of every 10 bottles of rum sold in the U.S. are from Puerto Rico. Sales in the U.S. from Bacardi and Captain Morgan alone represent three-quarters of all rum sold in the U.S. Puerto Rico is by far the market leader in this spirit category," said Ms. Garnik.

In conjunction with the advertising launch, Rums of Puerto Rico is hosting special events in New York, Miami and Los Angeles that will include a Rum Academy for bartenders led by the renowned mixologists Steve Olson, partner in Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), for the New York event, and Tony Abou-Ganim, The Modern Mixologist, for Miami and Los Angeles. Evening cocktail receptions will feature performances by jazz artists Nestor Torres in Miami and William Cepeda in New York. Chef Wilo Benet will prepare a selection of dishes prepared with rum as an ingredient. Rums of Puerto Rico has created ten new recipes for rum infusions, where the spirit is mixed with sliced fruits, spices and chilis and steeped for several days.

Ms. Garnik predicts rum infusions will be the next new cocktail trend. "We are making a more conscious effort to marry rum and gastronomy using fresh ingredients in creative ways."

Rums of Puerto Rico, a division of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), was created in 1948 to promote the sale of all rums shipped from Puerto Rico to the mainland U.S. Rums of Puerto Rico sponsors events in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.