A quick aside: I’m a drinker, and not a smoker. But I find it utterly bizarre that alcohol commercials are so pervasive, while advertising for tobacco is virtually non-existent. Which one is more immediately harmful?
That out of the way, I really like this commercial celebrating Bacardi’s 150th year. Yes, it is stylistically similar to some Heinekenwork, but Bacardi’s is still a lot of fun. The song is “Chambermaid Swing” by Parov Stelar. This seems like a type of spot that could be the start of a campaign, showing people partying with Bacardi over the years.
American megabreweries have a low-brow reputation and commercials like these play right into it. Miller Lite isn’t manly. And I thought it was amusing how the Coors Light bar exam ads were played endlessly in the summer, when real law school grads were fretting over the real bar exam.
The Timothy Leary Award: The trippiest commercials. You might not have been on drugs, but these made you feel like it.
Love it. Trippy as all hell, this seems like it could be either a drug-induced fantasy or maybe just a fat person’s fantasy. Influenced by The Big Lebowski. The song is really catchy too.
The Field of Dreams Award: Field of Dreams is a movie that is known to make grown men cry. This award goes to those tearjerker commercials that have the same potential.
Heineken always has really coolcommercials. Here’s another, about a legendary date. It’s an homage to the 1965 Bollywood movie Gumnaam. The song is “Jaan Pehechaan Ho” by Mohammed Rafi. I love all the stuff you can find on the Internet.
I’ve always found it bizarre how concerned American beer companies are with the designs of their bottles and cans. You don’t hear much about the quality of the beer, just about the bottles/cans and vague claims of “drinkability”. Heineken cuts right to the chase in this very simple commercial. There’s no gimmicks, just the beer.
Back in junior year of college, one of my friends/roommates decided we should have a “classy” party at our apartment. We dressed up in classy clothes, put together a classy jazz soundtrack for the night, bought a classy sounding keg of Stella Artois and other fine libations, and got ready for a night of highbrow conversation. Within an hour, we were out of our stuffy clothes, trashy hip-hop was blaring from the speakers, and we were doing beer bongs and keg stands.
The point is, we weren’t very classy and our attempts to try failed hilariously. I thought about this experience when I saw this new spot for Heineken. This is a very cool commercial, helped out by the music of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, whose singer bears a striking resemblance to Avril Lavigne. Much like Heineken’s 2008 Beertender ad, the tune adds a special cache to the brand as an upscale hipster option. If only we all could make that kind of first impression…
