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A Real Housewives star is showing fans how product self-promotion is done. Months after Kathy Hilton’s promotion of a tequila brand she’s invested in fell flat on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” Lisa Barlow of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” worked her own tequila brand into a restaurant scene with her husband – and some fans think she really nailed it.
Barlow and her husband, John, are the founders of Vida Tequila. In an interview with E! News, the RHOSLC star said she has “always been infatuated with tequila.”
“The brand embodies me; my lifestyle in a bottle. It tastes as amazing as it looks in the bottle,” Barlow said.
Lisa Barlow Worked Her Tequila into an RHOSLC Scene
On the RHOSLC episode, “Choir of Chaos,” Barlow and her husband filmed a scene at a Salt Lake City restaurant, where viewers saw a waiter come to take their order. “I’m definitely going to have a Vida cocktail,” Barlow said to the waiter, who suggested a lavender-infused drink.
When Barlow added, “That’s like my favorite cocktail here,” the server said, “It’s been one of our best sellers.”
Barlow later commented on the exchange in a confessional. “I don’t think this guy realizes that we own Vida tequila,” she said. “And no, he’s not on my payroll.”
On social media, some fans compared Barlow’s tequila promo to “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kathy Hilton’s messy exchange with her co-stars last season over her Casa Del Sol tequila brand.
“Kathy Hilton needs to take lessons from Tequila Queen Lisa Barlow on how to self-promote tequila while coming off completely natural,” came a post by fan account Queens of Bravo.
“This I agree with. Promote through ordering, not stuffing down everyone’s throat, especially when it’s not your promo event,” another fan commented.
Others called Barlow’s work-in of her tequila brand a literal “Masterclass” for self-promotion.
“Take notes Kathy!!!!” another fan wrote.
But others noted that Barlow is the owner of her tequila brand while Hilton is just an investor in Casa Del Sol. And others speculated that the server in Barlow’s restaurant scene was “definitely tipped beforehand.”
“Sure Lisa, the waiter with a cameraman in his face who signed a waiver to be on tv has no idea who you are,” one viewer cracked.
“Anyone who is saying that he said the drink was popular only bc there are cameras has obvi never been a server lmao we say that to just about anything,” another wrote.
Kathy Hilton Had a Difficult Time Trying to Promote Her Tequila on RHOBH
Last season on RHOBH, Kathy Hilton attempted to promote the Casa Del Sol tequila brand during a cast trip to Aspen. The brand was launched by actress Eva Longoria in 2021, according to Us Weekly, and Hilton and some of her other family members are investors.
In the RHOBH episode “Rocky Mountain Bye,” Hilton held up a bottle of Casa Del Sol and suggested the group do a “bottoms up,” but her co-stars just groaned.
During an outing to a Westernwear shop, Kemo Sabe, Hilton became upset when co-star Lisa Rinna ordered a shot of Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila instead of Casa Del Sol. As Rinna drank the rival tequila in front of her, Hilton could be heard complaining that her sister Kyle Richards, who planned the outing, was doing nothing about it.
While speaking on an episode of “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast in October 2022, Richards claimed she made sure that Hilton’s tequila would be promoted during the trip.
“Before Aspen, she said, ‘We’ve invested in this tequila company. Do you care if I bring it to Aspen?’ And I said, ‘Not at all, send it to my house. We’ll mix drinks with it, I’ll put it out,’ and that’s exactly what we did,” Richards said.
The RHOBH veteran revealed that she was stunned when her older sister got upset that the tequila wasn’t front and center at the Kemo Sabe event.
“I was like, ‘Why would you think the shopping event would be a thing for your tequila?’ It didn’t make any sense,” Richards said.
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