1800 Tequila is no stranger to invoking some mobster swagger in its ad campaigns, and their newest one is doubling down on the trend. Legendary gangster-actor Ray Liotta has been enlisted for a series of new spots that will promote 1800 as being, in the words of the company itself, “The Tough Guy Tequila.” However, Ray Liotta says nothing for 1800 Tequila.

These new ads by the VIA Agency show Liotta in a variety of situations, often surrounded by men drinking insufficiently masculine cocktails. Liotta barely has a word of dialogue, but that’s just how VIA’s chief creative officer Greg Smith wanted it. He believes that Liotta projects the silent, masculine type of cool that 1800 is trying to capture with its new “Enough Said” campaign.

Noting the marketing approaches of rival tequila brands, Smith further noted that it’s “not about velvet ropes and artisanal bottles and all that shit.” He wants tequila to recapture its old cowboy attitude and reputation for being “a guy’s guy’s drink.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that 1800 has flirted with Mafioso marketing. Their previous multi-year campaign featured actor Michael Imperioli, best known for his role as the drugged-out gangster Christopher on The Sopranos. This time, however, 1800’s ads will be cutting all the chatter and letting Liotta’s tough countenance – and his manly drink – do all the talking.

posted by Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA