The Most Interesting Man In The World, Numero Dos
This past spring, Dos Equis ended phase one of what is widely considered to be one of the most successful ad campaigns, thus far, in the 21st Century, “The Most Interesting Man In The World”. Putting 77-year-old Jonathan Goldsmith (the man who had played the character since 2006) on a space shuttle and launching him off on a one-way trip to Mars, Dos Equis signaled to fans of the campaign that they would not be seeing “The Most Interesting Man” anymore.
But, fans have found, while the man is gone, the campaign remains. Dos Equis has decided that, given its new partnership with the College Football Playoff, its desire to attract younger consumers and better attract the Hispanic market, it is time to reboot the campaign with a new, younger and more multi-cultural “Most Interesting Man”. Enter phase two of the campaign, and French actor Augustin Legrand.
Mr. Legrand is trilingual, speaking French, English, and Spanish; he shows off his Spanish-speaking skills in the recently released Don Equis teaser ad. He’s more than 30 years younger than Mr. Goldsmith, is more athletic, and presents more of a “young James Bond type persona” as opposed to the older, more iconic presence Mr. Goldsmith portrayed. While the majority of Mr. Goldsmith’s television commercials featured his character speaking from a dark corner of a bar, surrounded by beautiful women, the new television commercials will feature Mr. Legrand as a type of action hero and will portray women in a more progressive fashion. We may even see a “Most Interesting Woman In The World” alongside Mr. Legrand as the campaign progresses.
The challenge will be to keep the viral buzz going from the original “Most Interesting Man” campaign and even attempt to build on it. Dos Equis realizes that they run the risk of “the sequel not being as good as the original”, but they are willing to roll the dice as the payoff could be huge. Dos Equis’ Lager Especial sales have grown 6.4% this year thus far, and Mexican beer sales as a whole have increased 13.6% year over year. If approached correctly, Don Equis could gain market share from such brands as Corona Extra and Modelo Especial, and really begin to get a hold on the market.
The new “Most Interesting Man In The World” campaign is set to launch this October.
