Came across this cool trailer for a movie that’s out. How many of these people do you recognize? If you’re not in advertising, you’re forgiven for seeing strangers. If you’re in advertising and they’re strangers, wallow in ignorance and shame.
Author: PD Scullin
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Modern Mad Men
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The Most, The Best
All hail the creators of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign for Dos Equis beer. Let us now sing the praises of this brilliant campaign.
It does not talk about beer ingredients.
It does not feature hot babes lusting for dudes who hold the product.
It does not perpetuate the battle of the sexes with sophomoric gags.
It does not exude fake sincerity and empathy for its audience.
It does not feature brewers or their brewing secrets.
For the love of beauty product shots, it doesn’t even have a beer pour!Our hero is a man with robust facial hair and adventurous tales that would have made Hemingway pee his pants in fear and caused Norman Mailer to sit down and shut his pie-hole.
In commercials he is described this way:
“His beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man’s entire body.”
“The police often question him… just because they find him so interesting.”
“His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards.”
“He once had an awkward moment just to know how it feels.”
“His blood smells like cologne.”
“He lives vicariously… through himself.”Little wonder “his reputation is expanding faster than the universe.”
This campaign broke a couple years ago, and its legend continues as it breaks all the conventions of beer advertising and becomes a cultural phenomenon. Imagine the bravery of a client who approved the line “The Most Interesting Man” speaks toward the end of each spot, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.”
WHAT! That’s the softest sell ever.
“I don’t always drink beer” (hey, who’s paying for this spot?!)…
“but when I do” (you better drink it, it’s in your contract, mister…)
“I prefer Dos Equis.” (“Prefer?!” How about “I INSIST it be great tasting, double-hopped, crystal spring water cold filtered for extra flavor-liciousness Dos Equis!”)The most interesting thing about “The Most Interesting Man” campaign is this: the execution IS the idea. Once, this idea would have been killed because “any beer could say it.” So what? Any beer didn’t say it. Dos Equis did, and they created a man, a myth and a beer legend that will endure for quite some time.
In a flat beer sales environment, Dos Equis is up, way up. It’s great when great advertising works.
“Stay thirsty, my friends.” We will, we will.
It’s my favorite beer campaign since The Swedish Bikini Team for Old Milwaukee. Well, lookee here… a link to more about that infamous campaign.
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Alien Prez!!!
Rush warned us, now Lou Dobbs confirms it: President Barack Obama is an illegal alien. But that’s only half the story, morning glories.
It’s not just that Obama wasn’t born in these United States, perhaps he’s not even from our planet– making him an illegal alien alien!
Cripes, people– what if when he loosens his tie, takes off the suit and peels back his skin, he’s some sort of hideous creature from another galaxy here for our tasty healthcare, delicious salty snacks and refreshing protoplasm.
Look, I don’t want to sound alarmist here, but RuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuN!
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Intl. Dyslexia Dya?
Today is July 27. Big deal, right?
It is a big deal because every-single-blessed-day is some sort of obscure holiday, and your friends at Ames Scullin O’Haire have captured an entire year’s worth of the suckers and forged them into a challenging (some say impossible) game. Up for it, sparky?
A bird dreams about wide-brimmed hats. Silly bird! Look over yonder to the right under the Blogroll and click on TOUGHEST GAME IN WORLD. Click your way to July 27 and select which obscure holiday today is. See if you’re right.
Then try some other days.
If you can do three in a row, you’re decent.
Five in a row, you’re good.
Eight in a row, you’re great.
Ten in a row, you’re a master. I bow to your glory and bask in your greatness wearing spf 240 lotion.
We’ve yet to meet a ‘master.’ When we do, he/she will get his/her own obscure holiday and legions will follow singing praise and doing what adoring legions do.
Enjoy.
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Man on Moon?
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong allegedly became the first man to walk on the moon. I say allegedly because 6% of the U.S. population believes it was a government hoax; that it was actually two chimps in the spacesuit and it was shot on Mars, dressed to look like the surface of the moon. You truly cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Be that as it may, I’ve come across some of the other options the alleged Neil Armstrong had as his first words to accompany his first steps on the alleged moon. I share because I care.
"Look at me, everyone– look at me! Lookit!!!" “That’s one small step for man and a really big leap forward for the human race of which the man is a part of, you know, the man who made the small step in the first place. That guy… me.”
“Hey, is everyone buying me being on the moon? I mean, really, this looks pretty authentic, right, because this is not a government hoax, I swear. I am on the moon! For real.”
“Now then, what was I going to say?”
“You just can’t beat a good BLT sandwich, no siree bob!”
“I’m on top of the world being on top of the moon. Did I just blow your mind, or what?”
“Looks like a full earth tonight. I love a full earth.”
“Hey, this ain’t no green cheese! It was all a lie! An awful, horrible lie!!!”
“They put a man on the moon, you’d think they’d be able to make a denture adhesive that didn’t slip. Well, now they have. Try new and improved PoliGrip…”
“All earthlings beware, bow to your new leader– Neil Armstrong!”
“I sure hope this moon dust comes out of carpets because I didn’t pack a second pair of shoes.”
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And That’s The Way It Was
"The Most Trusted Man in America" The king is dead. Walter Cronkite gave earth 92 years and now has left it.
Back in the days before a 24-hour news cycle, before Ken and Barbie dolls learned to read Teleprompters, people like Cronkite applied the rules of journalism to their craft. They did the legwork, the homework and the back-breaking work of getting the story right, then presented it in as unbiased a manner as possible.
Back in the day, Cronkite was the heart, soul and face of television news. He was “The most trusted man in America” because he gave us the straight dope. He told us JFK had been shot and killed in Dallas and he paused for a moment, took off his eyeglasses, brushed aside tears, collected himself, returned his glasses to his nose and soldiered on. The only other time I saw him get teary eyed was the tears of joy he had reporting Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk 40 years ago.
He was the man who gave us weekly casualty counts from Vietnam. When Uncle Walter concluded that after so long and so catastrophic a casualty toll we should pull out, LBJ knew he had lost middle America’s support. He would not seek office again.
Whatever Cronkite told us we took as gospel. We thought and felt he would only tell us the truth. When he signed off each broadcast with “and that’s the way it is” we believed truly believed that’s the way it was.
Today we have pretty boys and girls relaying sound bites and pundits spewing talking points. We sensationalize everything and glamorize anything. But once upon a time, journalists roamed the earth, gathered the news and fed the masses truth. Cronkite was such a dinosaur and I am thankful he appeared in the magic box and talked to me.