Castro's Unpopularity Attributed to Expulsion of Rum
From what I can gather out of these spots, the only reason people swim out of Cuba is to pursue Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 Year Old Rum, which Fidel Castro expelled in 1959.
But the high seas can be treacherous. A shark comes and eats the rum, then eats the people, and Fidel is pleased. Meanwhile, the people inside the shark party with their liquor of choice.
"They can't hear you laughing, Fidel." Quirky, like a dream dreamed while hammered. See spots:
o Exodus
o Follow Da Rum
o The Cuba Shark
Tagline: "Fighting equality since 1872. Expelled from Cuba in 1959."
The ads were put together by agency Kaspen of the Czech Republic. (Our Matusalem contact says it may not exist anymore -- the agency, not the Republic -- but at the time they were working together, it was owned by Zdenek Kaspar.)
Also check out the sell sheet, which proclaims Matusalem was chosen as Best Rum at the '08 San Francisco Spirits Competition. "Outcast and still outclassing the competition." I like that.
Comments
Reading the description of the spots, I was all geared up to feel outraged and insulted as a Cuban-American. But they were actually pretty funny. However, I kind of think the shark one was a bit much because of the fact that countless refugees die at sea for that reason. Does anybody know what agency produced the campaign?
I'll find out and update the post.
Joel -- the agency was called Kaspen and it's located in the Czech Republic. The Matusalem contact is fuzzy about whether it still exists.