Why the Dos Equis man works

There’s something wonderful about those silly Dos Equis ads with the Most Interesting Man in the World. Seth Stevenson, Slate.com’s house critic of all things commercial, puts his finger on it in a review of the ad, lauding the campaign’s loopy Wes Anderson aesthetic, illustrated by vintage film stock of our playboy hero engaged in “absurd endeavors.” These ads stand out from the dime-a-dozen frat-boy spots typically used to sell beer (hello Coors Light), Stevenson notes, and Mr. Interesting is no standard brand icon. Indeed, the ad makers’ genius has been to invent a celebrity endorser whose pitch line speaks to his offhanded confidence (“I don’t always drink beer. But when I do, I drink Dos Equis”). Stevenson gives the ad a B+, but only because the Most Interesting Man in the World is too cool to actually peddle a mass-market product.

Slate