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D. Jason Nam

Nicole Williams

English 1105

3 November 2009

The Most Interesting Campaign in the World

What does it mean to be the most interesting man in the world? According to the Dos

Equis campaign, it would involve a man “splashing down in a space capsule, performing trick

billiards shots for turbaned companions” (Slate.com), and of course, drinking a bottle of Dos

Equis. Dos Equis (XX) Lager, brewed by Mexico’s largest beverage company, Fomento

Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), is a lager-style beer imported from Mexico.

Made with roasted malts, choice hops, a unique strain of yeast and purified water, the beer

reviewers describe the lager as “fresh, crisp and golden”, tasting more like a “pilsner than a

traditional lager” (RateBeer.com). While earning its success through rave reviews, Dos Equis

established the winning image through their clever marketing campaign titled, “The Most

Interesting Man in the World”, allowing the product to stand out amongst the multitude of other

beer brands as “the” luxury beer (DosEquis.com).

The “The Most Interesting Man in the World” slogan was first introduced in 2007, when

the company launched its campaign starring the actor Jonathan Goldsmith. Even though

Goldsmith was relatively an unknown actor who made a few appearance on television shows, the

advertisements caught the attention of viewers through a unique visual concept; mainly targeting

older-aged males.
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The setting of this advertisement is a high-end

lounge banquette where the attention is focused on the

actor Jonathan Goldsmith. He is looking directly at the

audience. “It looks like he’s saying, ‘Oh, you want to

be like me?’” says Amy Nguyen, an 18-year-old

student at Virginia Tech. Goldsmith is shown in the

print advertisement as the man every male wants to be

– well dressed, surrounded by attractive women, and

simply enjoying his time. At the first glance, one might

not even realize that this is an advertisement for beer.

“My eyes immediately went to the words,” says Danny Gongora, a first-year student at Virginia

Tech. “I then noticed the two girls sitting next to the old guy.” The content of the “words” as

well as the dark, high-end setting establishes Dos Equis as the most exclusive beverage, brought

out after the mediocre majority of the crowd has gone home.

Dos Equis’ choice of casting an older figure as its main model may seem interesting at

first, given that the majority of beer advertisements today use young actors. Rather than using a

rising young sexy star to campaign their product, the company instead uses an actor well beyond

his fifties. But the benefit in their choice soon becomes clear. By choosing an older figure to

represent Dos Equis, not only does the advertisement stand out from others, but it also gives a

new definition to beer. In our current culture, beer is more commonly associated with people of

younger demographics, between 21 and mid-thirties, or simply put, college students. However,

Dos Equis attempts to redefine who and why people drink beer by creating darker and more

mature settings for their advertisements. When Casey Malinowski, a 19-year-old freshman at

Virginia Tech, was asked how he thought about the old man in the campaign, he responded that
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“this [beer] seems to be for old men who feel the need to look young.” Malinowski answered

“I’m afraid not,” when he was asked whether he would choose to drink this beer.

The seemingly contradictory responses from these college students suggest interesting

points to note. The advertisement is geared towards the older generation, as Malinowski could

not identify with the older male. However, Danny Gongora’s former statement – “My eyes

immediately went to the words. I then noticed the two girls sitting next to the old guy” – suggests

that the advertisement successfully establishes itself as a luxury beer. Malinowski’s reaction

shows the success of the of the Dos Equis campaign of targeting the older males. He could not

identify with the old man in the advertisements and therefore was not interested in buying the

beer. However, the advertisers intentionally positioned the four models in such a way that the

younger audiences will look at this ad and aspire to drink this beer when they reach the age. The

young male figure’s profile is shown just enough to reveal his admiring and envious look toward

Goldsmith. It is as if the young viewers almost see Goldsmith, the Dos Equis drinker, through

those eyes of the young male model. If Malinowski was offered this luxury beer, it is most likely

that he would not refuse it.

This print advertisement directly ties in with the TV-spots that are “accompanied by a

sequence of boastful one-liners” (Slate). Similar to the print ads, the commercials portray

Goldsmith as the most interesting man on earth by focusing on a “host of old school macho

pursuits like marlin fishing and bench-pressing women on chairs” (The Sydney Morning

Herald). During the scenes, a narrator describes why this old man is the most interesting man in

the world saying, “The police often question him just because they find him interesting… his

beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man’s entire body… his blood smells like

cologne” (Slate). While this campaign should be praised for its creativity and canniness, it is

also unfortunate to see the many ways it sends out a wrong message to young generations. The
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campaign includes demoralizing traditional tactics to appeal to the crowd. Just because the

product itself is geared toward older men does not mean that it does not influence younger males.

These series of advertisements promote underage drinking in that it basically says “drink beer to

be cool”. The official Dos Equis website itself bluntly describes the advertisements as an “opt for

an appeal to dudes’ self-conception, placing the focus on older gents who serve as models of

masculinity” (DosEquis.com). The next controversial issue about “The Most Interesting Man on

Earth” campaign is the portrayal of women. “The girl on the right is appealed to that guy.

Probably because she had a few drinks,” says Amy Nguyen. The use of sex appeal continues to

be used as an easy attention grabber in the Dos Equis campaign. Nguyen went further by

describing the man as a “pimp-wannabe” and that the advertisement failed to show what is good

about drinking. By examining Nguyen’s statements, this campaign seems to be most certainly

geared towards the male demographic.

Since “The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign had launched in 2007, sales

have gone up 17 percent, while all import beer sales are down 11 percent (AdAge.com). Not

only has Dos Equis created a brilliant campaign concept, but also developed a “truly effective

campaign which produced double digit sales gain on an imported and expensive product during

this tough recession” (AdAge.com). By casting Jonathan Goldsmith as their spokesperson and

blending absurd humor with suave sophistication, the company has made its way to stand out

from other competitive beer companies.

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Works Cited

De Brito, Sam. “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 May

2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.

<http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/allmenareliars/archives/2009/05/the_most_interesting_

man_in_th.html>.

“Dos Equis ‘Most Interesting Man’ Is a Great Beer Salesman.” Advertising Age - Ad &

Marketing Industry News. Web. 6 Nov. 2009. <http://adage.com/article?

article_id=137963>.

Dos Equis. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. <http://dosequis.com/>.

“Dos Equis XX Special Lager from FEMSA.” RateBeer: The Ultimate Source For All Things

Beer. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/dos-equis-xx-special-

lager/225/>.

Gongora, Danny. “Dos Equis Interview #1.” Personal interview. 30 Oct. 2009.

Malinowski, Casey. “Dos Equis Interview #3.” Personal interview. 4 Nov. 2009.

Nguyen, Amy. “Dos Equis Interview #2.” Personal interview. 4 Nov. 2009.

Stevenson, Seth. “The Quirky Genius of the Dos Equis Ad Campaign.” Slate Magazine. 25 May

2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://www.slate.com/id/2218849/>.