Dos Equis New 'Most Interesting Man' Has a Female Co-Star

French Actor Augustin Legrand Makes His Debut

Published On
Oct 25, 2016

Editor's Pick

After teasing its revamped Most Interesting Man in the World in September, Dos Equis gives a full reveal with an ad debuting today starring French actor Augustin Legrand. The brand is not straying too far from the techniques that made the original campaign famous.

Just like the old ads, the new spot features quirky, off-beat activities, like racing airboats down sand dunes. The one-liners are also back, like "he once cheated death, and death was perfectly OK with it."

But the new ad includes some subtle differences. Women played a supporting role in the old campaign. They often appeared in sexy outfits and fawned over the actor who played the original Most Interesting Man, Jonathan Goldsmith. In the new spot, a female co-star played by actress Marina Artigas is put on equal footing with Mr. Legrand. She spars with him in Samurai armor and races him down the dunes.

nother key difference is that the ad plays out entirely in the present era. That contrasts with the old ads, which included footage of a younger version of the man, suggesting a bygone era. Finally, Dos Equis has changed the classic tagline, "Stay Thirsty, My Friends," to "Stay Thirsty Mis Amigos" -- which is an obvious play for Hispanic and bi-cultural drinkers.

The agency is Havas Worldwide, New York, which was behind the original campaign.

"The temptation of a marketing director is to kill good ideas. Since the beginning of this project, I said, listen, the idea is good, it just needs to be executed in a better way," Heineken USA Chief Marketing Officer Nuno Teles said in an interview last week in Chicago, where he unveiled the new ad to distributors at a private meeting.

Of course, viewers will be the ultimate judge on whether or not the new approach maintains the magic of the old campaign, which was widely viewed as one of the best ad efforts of the 21st Century. (Ad Age agreed.) Mr. Goldsmith, who played the character since the campaign launched in 2006, appeared in his last spot for Dos Equis earlier this year at the age of 77 when his character was sent on a one-way trip to Mars. He was replaced as Dos Equis late this year as it began a new sponsorship of the College Football Playoff, which is overseen by ESPN.

Mr. Teles described Mr. Legrand's character as more adventurous, dynamic and athletic. Mr. Goldsmith "would not be logical in a college football situation," he said.

"Jonathan would play with two nice girls next to him [and] was bit more formal," he said. The new actor "has a group of friends next to him. You don't see the two girls. The women are challenging him."

The new Most Interesting Man is a man of action," said Toygar Bazarkaya, chief creative officer of the Americas at Havas. "He's never one to reminisce on times past, which stylistically changes everything. With a faster pace and more energy, we're reinvigorating and modernizing one of the greatest campaigns."

As evidenced in the new ad, Dos Equis will attempt to put a quirky spin on football-themed marketing. Mr. Legrand's character is seen kicking a football made out of a coconut between two giraffes that stand in for traditional goal posts. The kicker: "He played college football in high school."

The ad also includes a "helicopter RV," which represents Dos Equis' take on tailgating. The brand plans to station the vehicle at the sites of the College Football Playoff games. ESPN will broadcast from the RV during its playoff coverage, Mr. Teles said.

This story originally appeared at AdAge.com.

Credits

Date
Oct 25, 2016
Brand :
Dos Equis
Client :
Dos Equis
Agency :
Havas New York
Chief Creative Officer of the Americas :
Toygar Bazarkaya
Executive Group Director :
Jason Musante
Managing Director :
Jason Musante
Executive Creative Director :
Keith Scott
Executive Creative Director :
Paul Johnson
Creative Director :
Jonas Wittenmark
Creative Director :
Tobias Carlson
Creative :
Rick Ardito
Creative :
Jim LeMaitre
Chief Executive Officer :
Andrew Benett
Global Chief Marketing Officer :
Matt Weiss
President :
Laura Maness
Group Account Director :
Chris Budden
Account Director :
Michelle Garrard
Account Supervisor :
Wendy Hu
Account Supervisor :
Jenny Maughan
Senior Strategist :
Cassie Taylor
Director, Social Marketing :
Larry Lac
Senior Social Strategist :
Rachel Korenstein
Social Media Coordinator :
Katie Campo
Global Chief Content Officer :
Vin Farrell
Head of Content, North America :
Dave Evans
Head of Content, North America :
Sylvain Tron
Executive Producer :
Jill Meschino
Junior Producer :
Alex Zubak
Broadcast Business Affairs Director :
Cathy Pitegoff
Senior Broadcast Business Affairs Manager :
Deborah Steeg
Senior Talent Manager :
Yvette Aponte
Production Consultants :
Advertising Production Resources (APR)
Senior Broadcast SME :
David Quatararo
Production Company :
Rattling Stick
Director :
Traktor
Partner/Executive Producer :
Joe Biggins
Executive Producer :
Jeff Shupe
Head of Production :
Richard McIntosh
Producer :
Paul Ure
Director, Photography :
Tim Maurice Jones
Production Designer :
Timothy Moen
Stylist :
Liz Botes
Production Company :
AFS Productions, South Africa
Executive Producer :
Dale Kushner
Executive Producer :
Brin Kushner
Head of Production :
Jayne Rodgerson
Line Producer :
Gail Warner
Editorial Company :
Work Editorial
Editor :
Rich Orrick
Executive Producer :
Jane Dilworth
Executive Producer :
Erica Thompson
Producer :
Jamie Perritt
Visual Effects :
The Mill
Chief Creative Officer :
Angus Kneale
Shoot Supervisor :
Angus Kneale
Visual Effects Producer :
Clairellen Wallin
2D Lead :
Mikey Smith
3D Lead Artist :
Thomas Bardwell
2D Assistant :
Blake Druery
2D Assistant :
Yoon Kim
2D Assistant :
Heather Kennedy
2D Assistant :
Emily Bloom
3D Team :
Billy Jang
3D Team :
Dave Barosin
3D Team :
Jimmy Gass
3D Team :
Jackie Liao
3D Team :
Alek Vacura
3D Team :
Tim Kim
3D Team :
Peter Karnik
3D Team :
Christine Kim
Matte Painting :
Cedric Menard
Telecine Company :
Company 3
Colorist :
Tom Poole
Colorist :
Stefan Sonnenfeld
Producer :
Clare Movshon
Audio Producer :
Sound Lounge
Sound Engineer :
Tom Jucarone
Music :
Beacon Street Studios
Composer :
Beacon Street Studios
Principal :
Andrew Feltenstein
Principal :
John Nau
Executive Producer :
Adrea Lavezzoli
Sound Design :
Yessian
Sound Designer :
Weston Fonger
Executive Producer :
Marlene Bartos
Producer :
Emily Smith

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