They may have the most interesting man, but do they have the most interesting commercial?

  The Cuauhtémoc brewery was established in Monterrey Mexico in 1890 by a handful of Mexicans who knew how to brew a good beer.  It showed in 1893 when their beer Carta Blanca brand won first place in the Chicago and Paris World Fair.  Since then they have brewed several different kinds of beer, one of their most famous brands in the states is Dos Equis.  The lager was first brewed in 1897 by the German Wilhelm Hasse to commemorate the coming of the new century; the brand was named “Silgo XX” or “20^th century”.  The bottle has ever since been marked with their signature “XX”.  The lager boasts 2 great qualities, having either a 4.45 or 4.7 percent alcohol, and an amazing advertising program.  

Here is one of their most popular commercials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J8oJ0oEN70

This commercial shows the most interesting man in the world doing many different things. It tries to show him as the most interesting all around. He is portrayed as a great man. Everyone clearly loves him in all different settings. In the first setting, the most interesting man is outside. There are women and animals all around intrigued by him. The women can’t take their eyes off him. They appear to be interested in what he is saying, and sexually attracted to him. This scene appears in a sepia color. The next scene appears in black and white. The most interesting man is still the center of attention and it shows him as a courageous man. The third scene is in normal color. He is again the center of attention. He appears to be at someone else's wedding and everyone is lifting him up in a chair. He is the life of the party, he is the most interesting man. Everyone is laughing and happy to be around him. The fourth scene shows him at home cooking when a mountain lion jumps onto the counter. He simply tells the lion to get down like you would tell any house cat. The lion listens to his command. Then the final scene with the advertisement for Dos Equis, the most interesting man has the drink in front of him. There are also two women next to him who can not resist him. Like the first scene, they can’t take their eyes off of him and also appear to be sexually attracted.  The final line in the commercial is him saying he prefers Dos Equis. 

Many companies use celebrities in their advertisements to appeal to their consumer audience, however, Dos Equis uses a different approach. Instead of casting a popular well known icon, this company uses Jonathan Goldsmith as the main subject of their commercials. Goldsmith’s acting career was centered on his appearance in Westerns throughout the late 70s and early 80s. This being said, his most famous role was in the 1976 movie The Shootist in which he was a villain shot by the iconic hero John Wayne. He never reached a high level of celebrity stardom and is not famous by name. He is famous, however, under the title “The most interesting man in the world”. This character is portrayed as a scruffy, strong, “manly” person.  He has a very deep and raspy voice that makes him fit even more into the stereotypes of the ultimate “man”. This commercial tries to appeal to men by using the image of “The most interesting man in the world” to make men want to drink Dos Equis to be like him. 

• What are your thoughts on a company essentially creating a celebrity connected to their brand name, for example “The most interesting man in the world” or “Flo” from the Progressive commercials?
• Is this more or less effective than using a celebrity from pop-culture?
• Are the stereotypes used in this commercial affective in creating the ultimate “man”? or do they fail to convey this?

        

          Centraal Beheer is an insurance company sited in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It is the largest insurance company in the country and part of Achmea. Centraal Beheer is famous for its impressive architecture of their buildings and their campaign of TV commercials that has lasted for over fifteen years now. These are short humoristic commercials, generally without dialogue, in which something goes terribly wrong, followed by a  catchphrase; international versions being "Just Call Us."


One of the most controversial commercials by this company that we chose to analyze is now banned:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa8U1j7_Ytw&feature=fvst


           It is one of their most famous commercials which involved the Garden of Eden with Eve walking around exploring. She encounters different birds, wild flowers, and exotic scenes that may have been in the garden. This gives the viewer a serene and peaceful feeling that makes them unexpected for the turn of events. Then she discovers a waterfall in a hidden away sanctuary. Just then, Adam, who is told to be her companion in the Bible appears from the bushes. At this point, the viewers make assumptions of the actual Bible story assuming the two are soul mates. Adam and Eve stare at each other with yearn as they are both naked, but covered with a single leaf. Just as they are about to possibly kiss, Adam says in a high pitched voice, "Hi! I'm Adam." This makes the viewer assume that he is gay and Eve immediately loses her attraction towards him. The message that Centraal Beheer is sending is that they will be there for the customer even when things don't go as planned.


           This commercial clearly has nothing to do with the insurance company. One does not find out what the commercial is selling until the last 3 seconds of the commercial. This goes against the blue print for most commercials aired today. It also brought up a lot of controversy. Eve was clearly so in love with Adam until he opened his mouth and suddenly his high pitched voice is a turn off. In the commercial there is nothing that actually proves he is gay. However, the message the company is sending implies that Adam is gay because their message was that they will be there for the customer when things don't go as planned. This sends a false message that women only like men with deep voices and that people like Adam are not "true men."


           Do you think it's fair that Centraal Beheer incorporated sexuality in this commercial? They easily could have done a scenario where something else goes wrong. How do you think the gay community would react to this commercial? Along with women's rights and fights against racism, do you think prejudice against gays is an undermined debate?