‘Avion Tequila’ from this season of ‘Entourage’ is a real tequila
Shawn Norris
If any of you have been keeping up with this season of Entourage you know that one of the story arcs for the season has been Turtle and Vince hocking a tequila called Avion. Well it turns out that it’s a real product.
Tequila Avion has transcended beyond product placement into a major plot line in the Seventh Season of HBO’s Entourage. The show’s back story for Tequila Avion is fiction (Turtle isn’t their brand rep and Marc Cuban isn’t on the hunt to buy the company) but the tequila is very real. In the real world, Tequila Avion is based in New York City and run by Ken Austin a former Senior Vice President of Seagram’s and CMO of Marquis Jet.
It’s not often these days that a product gets this kind of exposure on a television show. In most cases, products such as this are completely fabricated (Duff beer, Red Apple Cigarettes, etc.) for licensing and placement issues. It’s much easier to create your own brand of a product than it is to secure the rights to use a brand name product and end up possibly paying said company for the use of their product. That’s why this is such and odd situation and ends up probably giving out a few spoilers.
The tequila made its way on to Entourage because Marquis Jet CEO Kenny Dichter and Tequila Avion partner, grew up with Doug Ellin, the creator of the HBO series. Ellin reportedly didn’t charge childhood friend Dichter for using the product.
That has to be nice from a marketing perspective. A guy you knew when you were younger has a hit show and gives you free publicity on a popular television show. Life imitating art and whatnot. However, it seems to me that the story arch of Vince drinking too much or getting a DUI or overdosing on booze seem to go out the window now that we know this a real tequila, right? Because no company wants their brand associated with that type of behavior. But hey, it does help you have “The best sex of your life” according to Vinny Chase. And how can I argue with a guy playing a movie star on a show about a a guy playing a movie star?
Entourage’s Tequila Avion is Real and We Have a Review [Drink Spirits]
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