"Over the years, drinkers have been spoilt by the range, entertainment and excitement of advertising designed to promote beers, spirits, PPS and other drinks. And they understand every trick in a marketer's armoury. This means that the advertising environment is even more fiercely competitive through the bars and off licenses," says Chris Hunton, deputy chairman of the brand's agency, McCann-Erickson London. "Only great advertising is good enough to create sustainable long-term powerful brands. This is what McCann-Erickson is doing through its work for Bacardi Breezer. The ads have transformed the sector known as 'alco-pops' into a serious and credible sector - Premium Packaged Spirits."

Bacardi-Martini UK's brands are split into lowproof products like Breezer, Metz (with an ad budget of £1.2m), Bacardi (with a £8m ad budget), NPD, Bombay Sapphire and Martini (with a £2m ad budget). The company also markets Glenmorangie.

According to Roger Harrison, marketing controller low proof of Bacardi-Martini UK, Bacardi Breezer, Metz, V2 and Bacardi Rigo have massive competitor sets as people's moods and needs change through the night. Bacardi competes with other white spirits as well as wine and vermouth. Bacardi Breezer competes with brands such as Budweiser, Becks, Smirnoff Ice, Archers Aqua, wine, spirits as well as products like Malibu and Archers. Bacardi Breezer is the market leader of premium packaged spirits and comes number two in the fridge behind Budweiser, while Metz is number four behind Breezer, Smirnoff Ice, WKD and Red Square.

McCann-Erickson London has held the Bacardi and Bacardi Breezer account for eight years. Bacardi Breezer was first advertised in 1993 with a very basic beach ad. The brand took off and was then rolled out nationally. In 1995 the 'True Stories' campaign was launched nationally on TV & radio. Scripts like "Romeo & Juliet" and "Henry the 8th," started with the line "I'll tell you a true story" and finished with the line "I'm telling you that's the way it happened." The campaign was used to get the brand established as an adult premium packaged spirit, an alternative to beer.

The campaign lasted until 1998 and helped grow the brand from zero to 37 per cent on trade distribution and from a £50m brand to a £220m. There was still a need however, to make the brand even more aspirational and adult, divorcing it from the competition. So, in November 1998 the "Latin Spirit in Everyone" campaign was launched with two ads "Interview" and "Psychologist" playing on the duality of the brand. Howard Greenhalgh of production company Godman shot both in Venezuela.

The following year, Greenhalgh shot two more ads in Puerto Rico, as part of the continuing campaign "Landlady" and "Mother-in-Law." This campaign managed to grow the brand to a value of £400m and a trade distribution of 49 per cent. It also created enjoyment scores of 73 per cent among 18-24 year old adults as measured by Millward Brown.