The Strategic Bet
Espolòn Tequila launched "Ride the Rooster" on August 25, a global brand platform that positions the Campari Group agave label against what it characterises as premium spirits' deepening fixation with exclusivity and access. The campaign debuts in the United States and is scheduled to roll out across Italy, Mexico, Canada and Australia — markets that reflect the brand's accelerating international footprint.
The timing is deliberate. Espolòn now distributes across 82 markets worldwide and has posted a 56% compound annual growth rate since its founding, outpacing the broader premium tequila category by a significant margin. That trajectory gives the brand room to challenge category conventions rather than conform to them — a commercially meaningful distinction in a segment where celebrity-backed ultra-premiums have increasingly set the tone.
What the Platform Entails
The campaign centres on Ramón the Rooster and Guadalupe the Calavera, the illustrated characters drawn from Espolòn's bottle artwork — itself inspired by the 19th-century Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, whose calavera imagery became a vehicle for social commentary. For the first time, the two characters move beyond the label and into live-action advertising.
Four hero video executions anchor the launch: "The Members Lounge," "Tasting Notes," "The Velvet Rope" and "The Private Cabana" — each staging scenarios in which status rituals and self-conscious premium cues are punctured. Spots run in 15- and 30-second formats across television and digital channels, supported by social video and on-premise programming. The integrated strategy and creative were developed by independent agency Venables Bell + Partners, whose client roster also includes Chipotle.
"Too much of today's culture is built around exclusivity," said Andrea Sengara, Managing Director of House of Agave at Campari Group. "'Ride the Rooster' is our belief that premium doesn't have to mean exclusive — it should be authentic, welcoming and full of character."
Industry Context
The launch arrives as the premium and super-premium tequila segment confronts a maturing growth curve. Volume gains that characterised the post-pandemic spirits boom have moderated across the U.S. on-premise channel, and several prestige agave labels have leaned further into scarcity and collector positioning to defend margin. Espolòn's counter-positioning — quality without gatekeeping — echoes a broader trade conversation about whether aspirational cues need to translate into restricted availability to sustain pricing power.
For Campari Group, which trades on the Milan Stock Exchange under the ticker CPRI.MI, Espolòn sits within a House of Agave portfolio that contributes meaningfully to the group's Americas business. Extending the brand's reach through a globally unified communications platform reduces per-market creative overhead while sharpening a single, exportable brand voice — a structural advantage as the rollout moves into markets with distinct on-trade and retail dynamics, such as Italy and Australia.
The creative and media investment also signals confidence in Espolòn's ability to compete above its price tier on brand equity rather than celebrity endorsement — a model that, if it holds, could attract closer attention from operators and buyers weighing agave SKU selection. Trade buyers looking for category context can find additional coverage in F&B Industry News's spirits and beverage sector reporting and brand strategy analysis.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
