I love tequila. I also love psychology. Rarely do these two interests intersect, but while in Puerto Rico I happened to come upon an advertisement for tequila that boldly, ham-handedly, clearly, uses a classic marketing technique: Exclusivity, a sub-type of social proof.
Social proof is the basic idea that we are attracted to objects or experiences that appeal to other people. In turn, the more appealing the people who like something are to you, the more appealing the object is as well.
Feast your eyes:
This is a particularly obvious application of the exclusivity principle compared to, say, Prada advertisements using women with fashion model physiques. 1800 Tequila just flat-out tells you: Only some people are good enough for this product. Are you one of them?
Of course, what is best about this whole thing is that 1800 Tequila is actually a good basic brand, one that’s fine enough to not make you feel like a college undergrad drinking out of a red cup, but not so refined that it’s sinful to mix it. 1800 Tequila is great in a paloma . . . and I think most people would agree.