Most Interesting Men in the World?

Is the most interesting man in the world still as interesting if there is someone else just as interesting? Dos Equis has launched a campaign that introduces us to what we should view is "the most interesting man in the world". All the commercials present really outlandish and interesting things that are done by this unnamed man and at the end he drinks a Dos Equis. They obviously want to tie being interesting with that beer, which is a different angle. As a copywriter, I love this campaign. I think the writing is really funny. I think it is even smarter to try and something that is such a commodity such as beer by promoting the beer drinker not even the beer. Let's be real. Beer is beer, but different people drink different beer and I would like to think advertising has something to do with this.

On the super bowl, Cars.com launched a commercial introducing us to David Abernathy. All the commercials present really outlandish and interesting things that are done by David. Hmmm, it sounds a lot like Dos Equis. At the end, they show that even though David has been a prodigy his entire life, car buying is still a worry he has and he depends on Cars.com. The problem here is that I don't give a crap about David Abernathy. The Dos Equis guy is clearly more interesting and cooler. Secondly, there really is no link between David Abernathy and Cars.com. I felt like it's such a stretch to create a character in order to sell car-buying peace of mind.

This brings me to my next point. How valuable is it to create a character? I think it's a cop out to create a character unless it's done right. Creating a character is the easiest way to come up with creative because then you can just make that character do whatever you want. The truth is that people like characters. They emotionally connect to them...OR they hate them and thus hate your brand. As a creative, I find it limiting. If your character works out, now you are forced to write communication in that character voice for years to come.

I feel like Dos Equis is a good character, but David Abernathy is a fleeting message that will soon disappear. At least I hope so. I'll leave with with some more Dos Equis commercials about the man who is a lover not a fighter, but is also a fighter so don't try anything.