Advertising Age - March 5, 2012

even as it has passed through multiple brand directors and agency executives.

One series of ads shows flashbacks
of The Most Interesting Man’s some-
times death-defying and always quirky
feats spanning the 1960s to the 1990s.
Grainy scenes show him parachuting
out of an airplane in a boat, for instance,
while a narrator intones one-liners
such as “He’s won trophies for his
game face alone.” The other set of ads
are simpler, featuring the Man giving
advice on topics such as speed-dating: “I
assure you, most women would not
consider speed a virtue.”
The Man’s feats (such as “bowling
overhand”) are offbeat but not impos-
sible, but the laughs aren’t cheap. “We
don’t want to go for the sophomoric,
cliché humor that is sort of the staple of
the [beer] category,” Mr. Smailes said.

Did you know?

THEMOSTINTERESTING ADSHOOTINTHEWORLD: Director Steve Miller of Radical Media (l.) reviews scenes with Dos Equis Senior Brand Director Paul Smailes and Mr. Goldsmith. Dos Equis’ latest campaign has The Most Interesting Man going back in time, with one ad showing him having a go at ski jumping in the ‘80s. A spot that depicts a ‘70s-era Most Interesting Man features a younger actor, Claudio Marangone, running not with the bulls, but against them.

trouble, when a billboard that read “Approach women like you would wild animals, with caution and a soothing voice,” drew complaints from women’s groups and was pulled.

On set, the Radical Media crew keeps a relentless focus on details. I watched them shoot a scene set in the 1980s, in which the Man happens on a ski jump while out for a winter walk. So he decides to give it a try.

Multiple cameras are used, including a vintage Bolex handheld used to give scenes a “found footage” look. In a sequence that will last only a couple of seconds in the ad, the Man casually hands his cigar and watch to a couple of skiers dressed in ugly blue ski suits before he heads down the jump.

In take after take, Director Steve Miller yells out instructions. “Big laugh,” he instructs Mr. Goldsmith, who instinctively complies. The joke, Mr. Miller later explained, is to put him

“I always looked
down on
commercials. I
didn’t want to
do them.” But
“it’s the best
thing that ever
happened to
me in my life.”
Advertising Age | March 5, 2012 11

in “serious or life-threatening situa-
tions, and he just throws a laugh in
there. … It’s a great contrast.”
For scenes set in the ‘60s or ‘70s, a
younger actor, Claudio Marangone,
replaces Mr. Goldsmith. On the day I
watched, he was playing the Man in a
scene set in 1970s-era Spain in which
he runs not with the bulls but against
them. With cameras shooting from
above, two live bulls are unleashed
directly at Mr. Marangone. After a few
rounds, Mr. Miller seems satisfied. But
a crew member shouts, “My cable got
cut by the cow.” The video feed was
lost. So they shoot again.

This year, for the first time, a few spots will run for Dos Equis Amber, a dark lager that accounts for about 30% of brand sales. “They say having a dark side will lead to no good. I certainly hope so,” the Man says in one ad.

Focus remains on brand

One thing people won’t see is Mr. Goldsmith making public-relations appearances, or showing up in TV programs or movies, as the Most Interesting Man. Heineken USA has said it has turned down plenty of offers because it does not want the character to overshadow the brand. “You want to make sure the awareness is around the brand, instead of the awareness of the character,” said Kheri Holland Tillman, VP-trade marketing and sales strategy.

Even so, it seems undeniable that the Man is almost single-handedly fueling sales. Although that’s a testament to the power of advertising, it also applies pressure to keep things fresh. Much of that responsibility falls to Lee Garfinkel, Euro RSCG’s chief creative officer-global brands, who joined the agency about a year ago. His writing team brainstorms more than 400 punch lines a year and whittles the list down to about 30 for TV and radio.

The campaign will undergo “small evolutions,” Mr. Garfinkel said. For instance, the Man this year will deliver his famous parting shot—“Stay thirsty, my friends”—from his manor rather than a bar banquette. Where he lives is still a guarded secret.

Meanwhile, Mr. Goldsmith has docked his sailboat for good and moved to a quiet farmhouse in Vermont. He is, without a doubt, a full-fledged celebrity, recognized routinely by strangers who aspire to be his character. All because of a beer ad. “I always looked down on commercials.” He said he never wanted to be in them. But “it’s the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.”