Ryan Reynolds reminisces about a time before social distancing when you could actually go out to bars in his latest spot for his Aviation Gin brand.

But, even in pandemic times, this being an Aviation ad and not, say, a Heineken ad, the wittily-scripted spot has the kind of edge you might expect from Reynolds. It starts off straightforwardly enough with Reynolds describing the “feeling of possibility” in a bar when you take your first sip of your drink that “anything could happen.” But those possibilities turn out to include “waking up to find you now have a problematic back tattoo” or surrounded by inflatable dolls—an experience that Reynolds adds is "definitely not" something that happened to him one time. The film goes to explain that by ordering and drinking Aviation Gin at home, you can get those same “anything is possible” feelings at a time when “nothing is possible.”

The campaign promotes Aviation Gin’s #TipYourBartenders initiative, in which it’s giving 30 percent of its online purchases to bartenders, until May 31. Initially launched on March 24th with a starting donation or “tab” of $15,000 to the United States Bartenders Guild, the initiative is good for every bottle purchased through Aviation’s major online delivery partners in the U.S., Canada and U.K.

Filled with scenes of people congregating, it appears that the ad was shot pre-pandemic, which it was. A representative for Aviation Gin says the footage was pulled from what was originally meant to be an "attack ad" on a certain coffee brand, which we suspect might be the one founded by a certain famous Australian actor previously featured in this Aviation push. 

The ad was created via Reynolds’ agency Maximum Effort and produced via Escape Velocity. It's the latest in Reynolds' series of humorous ads for his brand, including its now infamous take on the Peloton wife, and more recently, an ad centered on the Westminster Dog Show.