Bacardi produces cult graphic novel to tell its story of Cuban history

By Richard Siddle

Published: 11 August, 2014

Bacardi has teamed up with cult writer Warren Ellis and artist Michael Allred to produce its very own graphic novel - The Spirit of Bacardi - that tells the stories behind the famous rum, the Bacardi family and its origins in Cuba.

Bacardi Bacardi

The book is part of a multi media campaign, including a new dedicated Spirit of Bacardi website, that helps bring the Bacardi story to live and dovetails with its wider "Bacardi Untameable Since 1862" global marketing campaign.

It focuses on the life of Emilio Bacardi, son of founder Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, and his bid in the late 1800s to fight for Cuban independence, which saw him repeatedly imprisoned and then exiled.

But in the end he was to become the country's first freely-elected Mayor of Santiago de Cuba.

The graphic novel tells the Bacardi story in comic book style and how the family had to overcome earthquakes and fires through the years and ends with how the original Cuba Libre cocktail was first introduced back in 1900.

For added authenticity, artist Michael Allred, even included drops of Bacardi Gold rum in to the ink he used for the book's illustrations, which he said helped "make it a real part of the graphic novel's DNA".

Eillis said of Emilio Bacardi's story: "Storytelling requires great characters, and in Emilio Bacardi we have exactly that. Emilio was a patriot, passionate about his homeland of Cuba. My focus was to bring his drive and determination to life."

Andy Gibson, Bacardi's chief marketing officer, added: "While first and foremost we want the graphic novel to be entertaining, we are also saying something important about our brand; that we have the heritage to back up our attitude."

* Access here the link to the Spirit of Bacardi graphic novel.

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