Cafe Bustelo's distinctive can comes to life in brand's first national ad campaign

Espresso-style coffee Cafe Bustelo is an attention-grabber on the store shelves, with its vibrant, yellow and red can featuring retro-style graphics. Now,  distinctive packaging serves as inspiration for visually stunning fiilms in the brand's first national ad campaign.

“Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí," which translates to “Cafe Bustelo Was Here,” consists of TV and social spots from PSOne, a bespoke Publicis Groupe Power of One team created for The J.M. Smucker Company, owner of the Bustelo brand. The ads transform the Cafe Bustelo can’s striking graphics into various scenarios celebrating Latin culture. The campaign name and music, from HiFi Project, feature only Spanish, an intentional move to underscore Cafe Bustelo’s heritage. 

“We felt a real sense of responsibility in creating the first-ever national campaign for Café Bustelo, said Erica Roberts, executive creative director, PSOne. “The brand has been a staple in the Latin community for almost a century; it’s got serious street cred. So whatever we created needed to preserve this and be unapologetically Latin.”

The brand was founded in The Bronx, New York in 1928 by the Spanish-born Gregorio Mendendez Bustelo, who traveled to Cuba before he settled in the U.S. In Cuba, he found his inspiration for the espresso-style coffee, which gained popularity among the Cuban exiles in the States. The brand was acquired by Rowland Coffee Roasters of Miami, which wan sold to Cuban-American family before it was purchased by J.M. Smucker in 2011. 

“Coffee is such a cluttered space,” added Andy Bird, chief creative officer, PSOne. “The 'Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí' campaign disregards the category tropes and artfully creates a space unique to this very special brand. It’s loud, proud, and incredibly ownable.”

The campaign's 30-second spot debuted yesterday on Univision, VH1, Nick at Nite, Travel Channel and more. Other elements include digital banners, social, online, OOH and radio.