It's tough to imagine anyone not being familiar with the advertisement featured above. Seemingly overnight, the Most Interesting Man in the World has become a veritable pop culture icon. The concept behind the ads is quite simple. The "most interesting man in the world" is presented, and an omniscient narrator describes his achievements in laugh, all ridiculously exaggerated for comedic effect. In every advertisement featuring the character, his ending line is always the same "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis." The beer itself is briefly focused on, then the Most Interesting Man in the World works in one final line: "Stay thirsty, my friends." Despite already watching the video above before starting this post, I wouldn't have needed it fresh in my mind to write out the quotes. They're so memorable that they've transcended the ad, and become part of pop culture. The ads are powerful because they are clever, entertaining, and memorable. Merely telling someone to "stay thirsty" instantly conjures up thoughts of Dos Equis, making the Most Interesting Man in the World one of the most effective advertising campaigns I've ever seen.
Out of the many advertising appeals discussed by Professor Straubhaar, one in particular stands out in terms of applying to the Most Interesting Man in the World: that of achievement/prominence/attention. The nature of the appeal is somewhat self-explanatory. Ads employing this appeal intend to say "Use our product, and you'll achieve great things." "Use our product, and you'll be the center of attention, the life of the party (the most interesting man in the world.)" These claims are never explicitly made, due to their obviously untrue nature, but the implication is quite intentionally there. With this in mind, the Most Interesting Man in the World is practically the textbook example of the appeal. The idea is simple: drink Dos Equis, and you can be like him. Sure, you'll never live up to all his outrageous achievements, but by drinking his brand of beer, a small part of you is the most interesting man in the world. Against this, what do other beers even have to offer? The character himself essentially exemplifies this appeal. And, given the success of the ads, it would seem the appeal has been quite successful.
The image used in this post can be found here:
http://thewifehatessports.com/2010/07/the-dos-equis-spin-the-most-insert-word-men-in-the-college-football-world/
Really, all the people behind this campaign did was lift the tired Chuck Norris meme from the internet, and apply a different coat of paint to it. It's effective, but not as original as some would like to believe.
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