Guillermo del Toro Directs Skeleton Crew in Patrón Tequila Ad

Fresh off winning three Oscars for his film Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro has surprised fans by directing a tequila commercial. The cinematic short, titled The Perfect Pour, was created for Patrón Tequila and debuted March 18 during ESPN’s broadcast of the Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics game.

A Cinematic Twist on Advertising

The 30-second spot begins simply, with a waiter pouring tequila over ice. A voiceover asks, “Did we really need an Oscar-winning director to film a simple pour?” As the words “Directed by Guillermo del Toro” appear, the scene quickly transforms into something uniquely his own. Skeletons emerge from behind the bar, one holds a boom mic, and others join in as part of a supernatural film crew.

Skeletons With Personality

Del Toro collaborated with longtime cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and concept artists Guy Davis, Pete de Sève, and Karla Castañeda. The skeletons were designed with Day of the Dead iconography and Patrón’s trademark bee symbol. To achieve a handcrafted feel, motion capture performers mimicked stop-motion puppet movements, echoing the style of del Toro’s Pinocchio.

A Shared Philosophy

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico — the heart of tequila production — del Toro says he feels a kinship with Patrón. “The philosophy of Patrón and my own were very similar,” he explained. He prefers tequila neat with a block of ice, just as shown in the ad.

Looking Ahead

While this marks his first live-action commercial, del Toro has previously directed animated ads in Mexico. His next project is a stop-motion adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, a story about memory and regret set in medieval England. Del Toro believes the film is timely, warning that modern distractions may prevent people from truly processing life’s monumental moments.