Patrón's newest campaign draws parallels between the tequila's ingredients and a music video remixing a classic Latin song.

The national “Simple Yet Perfect” campaign from MullenLowe LA stars musical artists Jessie Reyez, Amber Mark, and Fousheé as they sing an a cappella and bilingual version of the ballad, “Gracias a la Vida,” which translates to “Thanks to Life” in English and was first released in 1966 by Chilean artist Violeta Parra. The song is brought to life in a black and white TV ad and long-form music video featuring the three artists set against a backdrop of the natural elements that make up the popular tequila drink.

The 60-second ad starts off with Reyez singing while sitting down as a waterfall is running in the background. Mark and Fousheé join in as all three take turns singing parts of the song. As the video plays there are flashes of water, agave, and stone, which are all part of the brand’s tequila making process. The ad ends with the tagline, “When natural elements are masterfully combined,” followed by a picture of three tequila bottles.

“We use only three ingredients [to make Patrón]—water, agave, and yeast, and we don't bring additives into our tequila at all,” said Kathy Parker, Patrón’s chief marketing officer. We only ever use those ingredients all of the time and that's not the same for other competitors. We wanted to make sure that consumers really understood that we're all about those three natural elements. 

The campaign is part of a continued push by Parker to get consumers to understand the brand beyond its name. She took the CMO role in February of 2020.

“Consumers are really interested now in the multi-layered stories that sit behind a brand," Parker said. “The big thing is we feel that there is no better way to make tequila and [that] is why our tequila is simply perfect. One of the things that I've been driving is how we can tell that story because I think consumers know that Patrón is fantastic but we want to tell the story of why.”

The song was chosen, in part, to celebrate Patrón’s  Latin heritage since the batches of its spirits brands are made in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. To help create this new rendition of the song while maintaining all of its original lyrics the brand enlisted the help of producer and composer Andres Levin, founder of the Afro-Cuban band Yerba Buena, and his company, Tribe Caribe.

“The first time I heard ‘Gracias a la Vida’ I knew right away it was a very special song. The lyrics are filled with present moment gratitude and love. The world needs more of that these days,” Reyez said. “I’m honored to bring it to life today with Patrón Tequila, a brand I respect for how they honor tradition, Latino heritage and passion.”

The ad—which has 60-second, 30-second and 15-second versions—will run on TV and digital and can be viewed on Instagram and YouTube.

“Gracias a la Vida is one of the most beloved Latin American songs in history, so to create a modern bilingual rendition of a traditional song required us to think boldly about how we were going to honor both the ballad and Patrón as a brand,” said Laura Sampedro, executive creative director for MullenLowe LA who led the creative for the campaign with fellow executive creative director Carlos Alija. “Finding the right singers that could give us the perfect range of different voices, styles, backgrounds that could harmonize in a cappella took time, but when we saw these three amazing artists, we knew they were the perfect fit for this campaign.”