Much like a bar, the beer category is crowded, noisy and chaotic. When it comes to attracting 21+ males it can be difficult be heard.

Looking at the broad swathe of beer commercials, it becomes apparent that many advertisers believe that images of buxom ladies, tailgating and frothy glasses are the best way to sell. Even premium brands assume a fairly low degree of intelligence. Our research revealed that our target did actually have a brain and was rather irked by the clichés and sophomoric humor employed by much of the category. They felt misrepresented, misunderstood. Probing further, we discovered an important truth: what these guys wanted more than anything was to be seen as interesting. We sniffed an opportunity.

Inspired by this insight, Dos Equis turned the category conventions on their heads. In place of Joe Drinker with an easily relatable lifestyle, we created the Most Interesting Man in the World (MIM), dashingly attired in Hemingway-style suits, situated in highly exotic and intriguing locales. Rather than soothing drinkers with familiar and generic cues of masculinity, Dos Equis used the sophisticated figure of the MM to imply that all their drinkers could and should be living a more interesting life.