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Emma Gray

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Sauza Tequila Commercial Uses Hot Fireman And A Kitten To Woo Women

Posted: 04/24/2012 5:26 pm

"Being a fireman is more than just putting out blazes and giving kittens CPR," intones a super hot fireman (who is in fact holding a kitten). Similarly, being a woman is more than ogling said fireman and kitten -- but sometimes we like to do those things too. Sauza's tongue-in-cheek tequila commercial is over-the-top in terms of its campy attempt to appeal to women ... and it works. Really well. (Scroll down for the full ad.)

Plenty of companies attempt to woo women with grating promises of "fairy tale" marriages, "minimized pores," and fragrances that will produce smoldering stares from any man in a 10-foot radius (thanks for that one, Axe). Though the Sauza commercial inevitably plays on stereotypes (women like men in uniform! women like kittens! women have tech issues they can't solve themselves! women chatter endlessly about jeggings and whether they are pants!), it's exaggerated enough -- in the vein of Mr. Peanut's "manly" ads that recently came out or Isaiah Mustafa's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" brilliant Old Spice commercial -- that the spot makes fun of those clichés more than it reinforces them.

Truthfully, I think many women would take a clever monologue that includes references to kitten CPR, antiquing and the dangers of high heels -- not to mention an actually useful margarita recipe -- over more generic female-centric ads any day. Plus, how can you resist the kitten in a beret?!

I'm not alone on this -- Jezebel's Dodai Stewart expressed a similar view:

Sometimes when the marketing geniuses in advertising try to tap into the female psyche, they get it all wrong. But sometimes it's so spot on that it's like they've been reading your diary ... It sucks to be so predictable, I loathe being a foregone conclusion, but GAH I love this.

At the end of the ad, the rescue worker of our dreams looks straight at the camera and says: "Don't call me a hero -- just call me; let me know what's up." Sauza fireman, I'd call you any day -- as long as you ditch the phrase "ladies night."

RELATED ON HUFFPOST: Ads That Use "No Women Allowed" Messages For Marketing

Loading Slideshow...
  • Dr. Pepper Ten, "No Women Allowed"

    "Hey ladies. Enjoying the film? Of course not. Because this is our movie and this is our soda," a man says as he runs through a jungle avoiding various mishaps. He successfully lands on an all-terrain vehicle and continues, "You can keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks. We're good."

  • Miller Lite, "Man Up!"

    When a man asks for a light beer but doesn't care which one it is, the woman bartender gives him a beer and says, "Just take off your skirt and I'll give you a Miller Lite." As the man moves away embarrassed and wearing a skirt, a deep manly voice tells him to "man up!" Another "Man Up!" ad features a female bartender telling the man to "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgA4JQQhZD4&feature=player_embedded" target="_hplink">put down his purse</a>."

  • Old Spice, "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"

    Ex-NFL player Isaiah Mustafa addresses women with boyfriends who "sadly, aren't him" because they smell like a woman.

  • L'Oreal Men Expert, "For Men (Not For Women)"

    L'Oreal Men Expert is so exclusive to men that if the cream even touches a woman's face it turns her into a frog.

  • E*Trade, "Girlfriend"

    The E*TRADE Baby's girlfriend is mad at him for not calling but he tells her he was busy "diversifying his portfolio." His girlfriend, who apparently isn't interested in trading, gets confused by the trade jargon.

  • Dockers, "Wear The Pants"

    The video features a group of men walking in a field in their underpants singing, "I wear no pants." The <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/dockers-wear-the-pants-27069/" target="_hplink">ad poster</a> for "Wear The Pants" included phrases such as "Somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men," and, "but today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for...We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and unite the world from the tracks of complacency."

  • Nestle Yorkie, "It's Not For Girls"

    In the video, a woman has to convince a store clerk that she is a man in order to buy a Yorkie bar. She passes every test but she gives away her identity when she can't resist a compliment. Andrew Harrison, who was Nestle's marketing director at the time, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2002/mar/27/advertising.marketingandpr" target="_hplink">spoke with <em>The Guardian</em> in 2002</a> about the ad campaign: "We felt that we needed to take a stand for the British bloke and reclaim some things in his life, starting with his chocolate."

 

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"Being a fireman is more than just putting out blazes and giving kittens CPR," intones a super hot fireman (who is in fact holding a kitten). Similarly, being a woman is more than ogling said fireman ...
"Being a fireman is more than just putting out blazes and giving kittens CPR," intones a super hot fireman (who is in fact holding a kitten). Similarly, being a woman is more than ogling said fireman ...
 
 
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07:14 PM on 05/05/2012
The Sauza fireman says at the end, "Let me know what's hot".
12:58 PM on 04/27/2012
I really wanted to like the commercial but couldn't. I realize how over-the-top it is, wanted to laugh, but just couldn't. As a woman, I struggle every day to be taken seriously. Don't get me wrong, I have a good time and poke fun at myself...it's just something about the message's truth of female frivolity. To me it It tears down what I am trying to build up.
12:06 PM on 04/27/2012
That's the best commercial. If it was selling something that I actually buy, I'd probably buy it.
10:42 AM on 04/27/2012
Good work by the ad agency.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kittenesque
02:10 AM on 04/27/2012
I am in love...with the kitten. You girls can have the guy.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Julie Racster
07:47 PM on 04/26/2012
Hilarious.
07:27 PM on 04/26/2012
Kitti in a beret!!! Too cute; and the way he poured the tequila in slow motion was very sexy. WIN.
02:15 PM on 04/26/2012
Yummy, and the margarita doesn't look bad either.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
brokenleoheart
11:53 AM on 04/26/2012
and teh kitten is like.
da fuq?
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11:13 AM on 04/26/2012
Advertising has become senseless and foolish. The "sense of humor" has gone in general. And some corporate decision makers should be sent out to pasture. Chevrolet has a series of ads now where the salesman is the epitome of the slime ball, used car salesman caricature. What were they thinking? A salesman who plays a customer with another tag-team salesman and then gives the thumbs up when he has scored points with the customer.
The best ads recently have been the series from Direct TV showing the sequence of downfalls if you stick with cable and end up selling you hair to a wig shop, or having a grandson with a dog collar.
08:13 AM on 04/26/2012
I'm not a drinker and I prefer dogs. He was still nice to watch but in the event of a fire, I'll get the real thing.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Elroy Jetson
Spacely Space Sprockets, Inc.
07:11 AM on 04/26/2012
As a former Firefighter, lets be clear. This is a Fireman. Firemen work at the local strip-o-gram office, not at the firehouse. Firefighters do the real job, are government employees, have low starting pay, families, mortgages, and retirement plans. A 'Fiireman' most likely would not make it through basic training.

But it's a nice little escape for you ladies (and you too, Dede! LOL!)
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Dede Eagleburger
Beauty is in the eye of the makeup brush holder
09:15 AM on 04/26/2012
hey now...!!! :P
02:18 PM on 04/26/2012
Don't you mean firefighter??? I don't believe they all have attached hoses.
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lylbeth
Watch things go downhill
04:38 PM on 04/25/2012
Why does his shirt disappear for the pouring of the beer, and then re-appear for the rest of the commercial?? It didn't add anything, for me. And yes, it's cute.
But though he talks a bit like Clint Eastwood, his expressions remind me of my son, so I can't really fantasize calling him for anything but to ask how my grand daughter is.
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Julie Racster
07:47 PM on 04/26/2012
Because it's funny!
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Dede Eagleburger
Beauty is in the eye of the makeup brush holder
04:32 PM on 04/25/2012
checking to see if I am out of Sauza...if not I soon will be...
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Swimdude
12:05 PM on 04/26/2012
I used to do business in Aguascalientes Mexico. If you throw a dart at the center of Mexico, that's where it's located.

The locals there turned me on to a Tequila that they drink. It is called Centenario. They drink it as their high end Tequila. Their view is that Patron is High end American Tequila. Unfortunately the Gran Centenario Tequila Reposado 750ml... has gone up quite a bit in price over the years as more people in the USA have learned about it. I used to be able to buy it for $22 per botle back around 2000. However, now it's about $50 per bottle but really good.
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edejan
03:47 PM on 04/25/2012
Wow! That got my attention. Seriously cute kitten and eye-riveting protagonist...win/win. Also hilarious.
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Olderandwiser55
getting older and wiser....
12:48 PM on 04/26/2012
Yes. I think many missed what appealed to women in this commercial. Sure, he's hot but he's kind (the kitten), helpful (makes us a margarita) a friend (willing to talk about "leggings") and funny-now that's what women want :)