Exclusive: How Jimmy Kimmel Pulled Off Surprise Tequila Shots at the Oscars

When it comes to viral marketing at the Oscars, Don Julio is taking its shot.

At the 96th Academy Awards Sunday, host Jimmy Kimmel and his right-hand-man, Guillermo Rodriguez, “surprised” Best Actor nominee Colman Domingo with Don Julio margaritas live during the show.

In the bit, which had Kimmel taking a tequila shot on stage, Rodriguez toasted the nominees, calling them by the wrong names and ending with a salute to his “beautiful wife,” a flabbergasted Charlize Theron.

OK, so the surprise wasn’t totally a surprise.

ADWEEK learned that Domingo was aware of the bit ahead of time, and following the moment, guests 21+ in the venue were also treated to an exclusive first sip of the new Don Julio 1942 Tequila 50-milliliter offering, a new, seven-inch-tall bottle that is available for presale starting this weekend. 

The integration was also accompanied by a 60-second spot from Diageo’s “Por Amor” campaign, with the Don Julio parent company showcasing the new bottles on a global stage.

But how did it all come together? We’ve got the tea-quila.

Diageo has been a partner of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences for years, regularly supplying the Governor’s Ball with cocktails following the ceremony, but this year’s event was the first time Don Julio was a sponsor of the Oscars on ABC.

With that in mind, the product was the perfect fit for the first spirits brand to have an in-show moment, and Kimmel—who has been a long-standing partner of Diageo for more than 13 years (regularly enjoying tequila on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live)—was a critical part of it.

“Jimmy loves to surprise the audience and pitched us this idea,” Teni Melidonian, chief Oscars officer at AMPAS, told ADWEEK. “Diageo is the perfect partner to help us create this fun, unique moment within a global broadcast, and we couldn’t wait to share it with the audience.”

John Campbell, senior vice president, entertainment and streaming solutions at Disney Advertising, told ADWEEK this was the first time an advertiser had been brought into one of Kimmel’s in-show bits, and it was a “no brainer.”

“We have to come to the party with the same caliber as these amazing films, so we challenge ourselves—what boundaries are we going to push this year to surprise and delight these young, affluent multicultural viewers,” Campbell said. “This one did not come with a brief, but if it did, the brief would have said, ‘fun, first and fearless.’”

Fearless is one of the operative words, as the integration was semi-improvised.

Although planning began before Thanksgiving, with Disney, AMPAS and Diageo all coming together, ultimately, Kimmel and his producers were tasked with finding an organic moment during the live broadcast for the integration, around a time when guests were starting to get “antsy,” according to Christina Choi, senior vp of tequila, gin and breakout growth brands at Diageo.

Choi noted that the brand didn’t know when the moment would happen or what would actually be said.

“Jimmy is a seasoned host. He will know in the show flow when the right moment is for this to happen,” Choi said. “We said, ‘This is what we want to communicate, this is what we want people to feel about the brand, why we’re part of this incredible Oscars moment,’ and turned it over to them to fit it in in the right way, the right narrative moment.”

Getting a brunch more support

In addition to Kimmel, Domingo is also a longtime partner of the brand, even hosting the series Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s Presented by Don Julio Tequila. Thus, he was a perfect fit for the bit.

Choi explained that the Best Actor nominee was “someone that we absolutely love and respect because of his art form and because he embodies the values that the brand embodies.”

“We are all about ‘Por Amor,’ which means ‘for love.’ We do things for love, and we feel like this particular individual absolutely does that,” she added. “It’s just a fantastic fit because it’s someone that we know authentically loves our brand, has the same values as our brand and I think will have a lot of fun.”

To keep everything a surprise, no additional branding tipped off the moment, and Choi said the integration would have never happened without “bravery on everyone’s part.”

“It’s a first for all. The Oscars has been evolving and innovating, year on year, but this is the first time,” Choi said. “We’ve never broken the barrier on having this celebratory moment in the actual theater for the world stage to watch.”

In addition to the in-show moment, Disney Advertising is also implementing other firsts with its sellout list of advertisers, including an integration from Rolex to celebrate this year’s winners, and Bank of America ensuring that people with disabilities can access the program in a first-of-its-kind red carpet livestream with TikTok.

“We’re going to continue to push the boundaries and work with amazing partners like Diageo, Don Julio 1942, AMPAS and Jimmy,” Campbell said. “It comes down to making sure that we’re all a little bit fearless, a little bit OK with the unknown and a little bit comfortable in the uncomfortable because that’s what’s really going to push this storytelling to the next level.”