Heineken recently released a new commercial that got exactly what it aimed for: positive reviews and conversations.
The new ad is fantastic and extremely long, clocking in at 4:25. But the thing is, because of how well it’s written, shot, cast, and directed, the 4:25 goes by extremely quickly.
Heineken’s ad was an experiment where various groups of two strangers that consist of one person with political views generally side on the “right” and one person whose views generally side on the “left”. Shortly after the groups are introduced, they meet separately in a warehouse of sorts and discuss three big issues in today’s world: transgender rights, climate change, and feminism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wYXw4K0A3g
The ad does a great job of telling a story with their commercial titled “Worlds Apart” and hasn’t received terrible reviews and criticism like that Pepsi ad.
The two in each group, despite being on nearly complete opposite ends of the spectrum for those three topics, are tasked with completing a project together. Before meeting, everyone films a confessional interview where they share their viewpoint. While doing said project, they are given cards that help them get very personal with each other, without broaching their issue. That sometimes includes them describing themselves or describing the other person.
Throughout the ad, each group individually gets closer and closer and when they are finished building what would ultimately be a bar, they are shown each others confessional where they reveal their differences. Each person is ultimately given the option to either stay at the bar and talk over their differences with a Heineken or leave. All the groups ultimately and not surprisingly at all choose to stay. During their time drinking their Heinekens, each group finds common ground and end up making peace with each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73P9STckPLw
The ad itself is brilliant because of how it shows viewers, and hopefully lots of Heineken beer drinkers, that at the end of the day, it’s possible to find common ground with one another. Unlike Pepsi, which tried to show viewers that giving a cop a Pepsi makes peace, this ad was realistic, truthful, and honest.
Getting personal, as someone who has lived in a region where nearly everyone had completely opposite political views as me, sometimes sitting down for a beer does exactly what Heineken’s ad shows. There were multiple instances where I shared a beer or meal with someone on the opposite end of the political spectrum and we ended up finding common ground. Sometimes a little empathy and understanding goes a long way.
[Uproxx]
