Macanudo Giving Cigar Cliche a Kick in the Ash – General Cigar relaunching Macanudo cigars
Mike Beirne
A connection to Cuba–either by Cuban seed that was sowed elsewhere, tobacco wrappers with Cuban heritage, or a Cuban cigar master who fled Castro–has been a cigar marketing cliche. Now, General Cigar will break the stereotype by positioning Macanudo as an American icon.
July print ads, via McCaffery Ratner Gottlieb & Lane, N.Y., proclaim the premium handrolled cigar is as American as baseball, pickup trucks and jazz. Other executions likely will tuck in the Ford Mustang, Chevy Corvette and other icons of Americana.
Placement includes smoke magazines and eventually men’s lifestyle publications. A budget was not disclosed but likely approaches $1 million. General Cigar spent $566,000 last year, per Competitive Media Reporting.
The first ad features a group of men dressed in ’50s garb, enjoying stogies while taking in a baseball game at legendary Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala. Tagline: “Macanudo, an American passion.”
“We wanted another hook,” said Sheila McCaffery, managing partner/creative director. “The Cuban seed story becomes so overdone it becomes unbelievable after awhile.”
The U.S. embargo has made the Cuban connection almost a standard in. cigar marketing. However, previous GC campaigns for Macanudo touted the cigar, launched 30 years ago without a Cuban front mark, as the benchmark for quality with a firm, consistent crown, shape, color, long ash and distinctive aroma.
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