Dos Equis debuts ‘Get a Dos’ tagline, finally severing ties with ‘interesting’

Dos Equis is finally leaving “interesting” behind. The Mexican imported beer has a new tagline, “Get a Dos,” that ends the brand’s association with the “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign. While that iconic series formally ended in 2018, the brand continued to reference it by using the word interesting in its campaigns—most recently with “A most interesting beer.” The new campaign—the first from Sid Lee after Dos Equis parted ways with Droga5 late last year—uses the “Get a Dos” tagline to carry a dual meaning in ads meant to link the beer with getting the most out of life. Of course, “dos” today is closely associated with “doses” of COVID vaccine—and the first ad in the campaign (above) portrays a world where people are adjusting to going out again after a year of pandemic lockdown. Jonnie Cahill, chief marketing officer at brand owner Heineken USA, says the vaccine inference is coincidental, noting the tagline has been in the works for several months. “I do think it’s a timely coincidence, and clearly it is going to have that resonance,” he says. But “we certainly didn’t come into the briefing process thinking how do we deliver a campaign idea that is relevant for a particular exact moment in time like we are in right now.” Rather, the brand wanted a lasting creative platform “because we don’t want to bounce from one campaign idea, or brand idea, to another,” he says. In that vein, the new effort will play off many themes, like getting a “dose of optimism” or a “dose of adventure,” for instance. “It allows us to really stretch the brand into all sorts of different territories and yet have a unifying [idea],” Cahill says. “In the opening spot, you see a ‘dose of comeback’—this idea that we are re-emerging from our cocoons and [getting] ourselves organized to get back out there.” Foreshadowing the freedom of normal socialization has emerged a popular creative construct for brands as vaccines become more widely available, especially for the beer industry, which relies on gatherings at bars, sporting events and festivals for a large chunk of sales. Budweiser, for instance, recently came out with a spot called “Good Times are Coming” from David Miami that pushes vaccinations by showing card games, cookouts, concerts and gatherings that have mostly been put on ice since the pandemic struck. Bud’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, followed that up this week with a more understated ad called “Let’s Grab a Beer, Safely” that comes from Weiden+Kennedy and amounts to a video of text portraying ways people can now drink together, like in a backyard, park or a rooftop. Dos Equis sibling brand Heineken is running an ad called “Back to Bars,” which shows people back in their favorite drinking holes, albeit taking precautions like mask-wearing and distancing. The Dos Equis campaign will get significant media support, including TV and digital, as well as marketing related to its College Football Playoff sponsorship, Cahill says. “It is pedal to the metal on this one because we are excited about the work and we are establishing the next chapter for Dos Equis with this campaign idea.” The last chapter was undeniably influenced by the highly regarded “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign from EuroRSCG, which broke in 2006 and helped turn the onetime regional beer into a national player. The brand parted ways with the original actor, Jonathan Goldsmith, in 2016, replacing him with a younger actor, before finally shelving the campaign two years later. Under Droga5, the brand tried to keep the spirit of the old campaign, initially using the phrase “Keep It Interesante.” But by then, the magic was gone. “If you are truly interesting, we heard from people, why do you have to keep saying it?” Cahill says. With the new campaign, “we felt it was an opportune moment to overly drop the use of the word itself, but the tone and perspective of Dos Equis will remain interesting because it’s had that in its core and it’s had that forever,” he says.

Dos Equis debuts ‘Get a Dos’ tagline, finally severing ties with ‘interesting’

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