Bill's Blog

For many, summer is the quintessential time to enjoy beer. Nothing tastes better than a cold beer on a hot afternoon. After working in the yard, playing ball or being involved in any outdoor activities, a tall, frosty one just seems so right. It's the adult version of lemonade.

There hasn't been a lot to celebrate in the beer industry. Beer sales are essentially flat or declining. There are so many choices it's almost overwhelming when you buy beer. Nothing stands out. This is even true of beer advertising. It's the same old, same old. Spot after spot caters to the younger demographic. Nothing is truly memorable. It harkens you back to the days of the great Budweiser commercials - "When you say Budweiser, you've said it all," or back to the Schaefer and Rheingold jingles of my father's generation. Try to remember one decent beer commercial over the last decade. You have to go back to Spuds McKenzie and the lizards and the frogs from Anheuser-Busch. It's been a dreadful category for advertising of late.

That's not the case today, as one beer commercial continues to jump out at me every time I see it. In fact, the first time I saw it I sat up and took immediate notice. The spot is Dos Equis, "The Most Interesting Man in the World." Here's a look. The casting is dead on. In this spot, you see various snippets of years and decades in the life of "The Most Interesting Man." What is utterly amazing is that Dos Equis is selling beer with an adult character. This hasn't happened in years, and for the most part, this beer selling strategy is universally unsuccessful. The common perception is that old dudes are irrelevant to the younger beer drinker. But, then again, this old dude also drinks beer.

What's even more remarkable is the admission by Dos Equis (owned by Heineken) that the character admits he doesn't always drink beer. What a revelation from a beer manufacturer! The spot makes emotional connection - this brand understands its audience. When you reach a certain age, your tastes are more refined and defined. You don't always drink beer. You might enjoy spirits and wine; but the taste for beer never subsides. There's nothing like it.

The best element of the commercial is the tagline, "Stay thirsty, my friends, stay thirsty." In various press reports, this catch phrase is heard time after time throughout bars and clubs. People want to emulate being the most interesting man, and if it means being thirsty, all the better. The real story, they're ordering Dos Equis in these establishments. "Stay thirsty, my friends, stay thirsty" has the potential to become part of our everyday vocabulary.

According to Advertising Age, beer sales were off by 11% year over year through June; but Dos Equis sales rose by more than 17%. This moved the brand into 8th place among imports in a virtual tie with Stella Artois. Shipments are up 13% and this has prompted the parent company, Heineken USA, to roll the campaign out nationally as it had been only running in stronghold Dos Equis markets. There is some serious media weight being put behind Dos Equis.

The credit for the work goes to Euro RSCG. They found a unique brand personality for Dos Equis. Not exactly easy, given that the Mexican brands of Corona, Tecate and others have been floundering. They have made Dos Equis a cool imported beer and helped justify the higher price point for Dos Equis. All of this is happening in a monumental economic downturn with category sales of beer plummeting.

The Dos Equis "most interesting man" is alive and well within a Dos Equis online presence and Facebook. The brand engagement is hot. Again, according to Advertising Age, the per average visit on the Dos Equis website is 7.42 minutes. Consider asking yourself when the last time was you were motivated to even go to a beer website? It's because the most interesting man is identifiable and aspirational to all. Like James Dean or Steve McQueen, he exudes a sense of cool. Who doesn't want to be interesting!

Great advertising still works. At a time when people say televisions ads are a thing of the past, along comes a campaign to refute that opinion. What it takes is a good idea, some original thinking and some internal fortitude not to do the same old, same old. Hats off to Dos Equis and Euro RSCG. Great work that re-establishes one's faith in this great business.