What Mexican Wrestling Teaches Us About Branding (Yes, Really)
Let me introduce you to El Santo. Possibly the most iconic luchador in Mexican history. Not just a master of the ring, but a marketing savant. This man wore his silver mask everywhere, even to the supermarket. (Alright, maybe not to the supermarket—but you get the point.)
Why am I talking about a mid-century Mexican wrestler on a New Zealand marketing site? Because El Santo understood something we’re constantly fumbling with: consistency of identity. The mask wasn’t a costume. It was the brand. And brand consistency is more than a logo kit. It’s visceral. It’s behavioural. It’s built into habit and ritual.
Modern brands often strip themselves bare in the name of relevance. They pivot, rebrand, dilute. Imagine if El Santo decided he’d be a techno DJ one week and a gluten-free granola company the next. We’d never be talking about him now. Meanwhile, brands with a clear, even theatrical consistency—like Patagonia or Allbirds—still feel richer than the sum of their parts.
There’s something pure about the pageantry of wrestling that we in the marketing world could tap into more. Consistency doesn’t have to be boring. It can be flamboyant, myth-building, even a little weird. The challenge is applying that spirit without descending into cosplay. Brands need to know not just what mask to wear, but why they’re wearing it. And once it's on, keep it on.
Why am I talking about a mid-century Mexican wrestler on a New Zealand marketing site? Because El Santo understood something we’re constantly fumbling with: consistency of identity. The mask wasn’t a costume. It was the brand. And brand consistency is more than a logo kit. It’s visceral. It’s behavioural. It’s built into habit and ritual.
Modern brands often strip themselves bare in the name of relevance. They pivot, rebrand, dilute. Imagine if El Santo decided he’d be a techno DJ one week and a gluten-free granola company the next. We’d never be talking about him now. Meanwhile, brands with a clear, even theatrical consistency—like Patagonia or Allbirds—still feel richer than the sum of their parts.
There’s something pure about the pageantry of wrestling that we in the marketing world could tap into more. Consistency doesn’t have to be boring. It can be flamboyant, myth-building, even a little weird. The challenge is applying that spirit without descending into cosplay. Brands need to know not just what mask to wear, but why they’re wearing it. And once it's on, keep it on.