Dos Equis New 'Most Interesting Man' Has a Female Co-Star
French Actor Augustin Legrand Makes His Debut
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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