Cancel Culture sure is thirsty for 818 TEQUILA
I woke up this morning to an email from a colleague that read “Rosenthal images…Backlash” linked to this article
I read the article and found a few more on Enterpreneur.com, The Cut, and HITC, as well as other places.
Once I started reading the comments on the social posts that were embedded in the articles, I knew I had gone too far down the rabbit hole. I proceeded to close all browsers and return to important things like feeding my children and getting them ready for school. I continued to think about the articles throughout the day and came to the conclusion that “Cancel Culture” is really thirsty for Kendall Jenner. Let’s be honest, they’re thirsty for anything they can cancel, but they seem really keen to cancel Kendall with the quickness.
We had been excited about the launch of the 818 Tequila campaign because it was shot by Mike Rosenthal, one of the directors we represent at Caveat. We saw a few of the photos in his Instagram feed and they were stunning. As usual, everything this dude shoots is beautiful.
We knew he directed the video as well and made something really beautiful. He was right. The 30-second spot is quite impressive.
Mike has a really amazing eye and captures raw imagery that is filled with emotion. He’s been working as a photographer for a long time and we’ve been excited to work with him to expand on his directorial career. The negative press and attempt to cancel Kendall over the campaign could potentially limit our ability to share the work. This is why my colleague sent the article my way.
I’m pretty sure the director that made the now-infamous Pepsi commercial with Kendall Jenner isn’t opening his reel with the spot, but this just doesn’t feel like the same thing.
A few of the articles called out that several other celebs have launched tequila brands without being accused of appropriating Mexican culture. Why is Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila different than George Clooney’s Casamigos or The Rock’s Teramana?
or Arron Paul and Bryan Cranston’s dos hombres mezcal
Or Villa One from Nick Jonas and John Varvatos?
Are they taking aim at Kendall because she’s a woman?
Many of the articles shared comments and social posts that demonstrated the biggest critique was that 818 is playing into Mexican stereotypes with a very heavy hand.
Kendall wore a shirt that resembles a rebozo, a Mexican shawl, and also wore her hair in braids and rode a horse. The ad featured workers, wearing the wrong kind of clothes, drinking the tequila, which they don’t often get to do, and it was in the wrong type of glassware.
As someone who makes advertising for a living and has worked pretty hard to help our clients dodge the tone-deaf bullet, I’d have to give Mike and the team from 818 a little slap on the hand here. It’s important to avoid these potential issues when planning a shoot and they should have known that the cancel vultures would be looming around anything and everything the brand was going to release.
That said, I don’t see a huge difference between the 818 campaign and those of their celebrity-owned competitors. If you’re going to spend the time to bash them and try to bring them down, you gotta go after them all.
Which I’m not sure is a great use of time for anyone…
But if you’re dying to take on the Tequila industry, or share a point of view on this whole thing, consider using your valuable social posts and comments on disseminating information that might actually help the world.
Maybe share some information related to tequila sales and the impact it has on the Mexican economy. Here’s a couple of interesting articles I found to help get you started.
https://foodprint.org/blog/agave-industry
https://www.winemag.com/2021/02/12/tequila-business-mexico-profit
