aaamusic | On 07, Feb 2014

Heineken (our editor’s favourite lager, by the way) has something nice to suggest: every man is legendary at something. In a move that aims to inspire the Average Joe, the premium Dutch lager company has, for the first time in its history, has cast non-actors (i.e. real people) in its TV commercial to play the main characters.

The ad, which has been made by Heineken with Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, is part of their ‘Legends’ campaign. This platform has essentially seen a series of “Men of the World” who are motivated to seek out their personal limits and triumph over them. The protagonists in these ads – i.e. the “Men of the World” – have always been played by actors; up until now that is. This advertisement is the first time ever than non-actors have been given the chance to become part of this campaign; echoing the sentiment that ‘every man has the ability to become legendary’!

The ad features twenty people, none who were professional actors but who were all cast via an open casting, through which their ‘legendary skills’ were put through the wringer. The twenty chosen were considered masters of their skills; the skills needed for the commercial.

‘The Odyssey Film’, as it’s called, had its world-wide premiere on the 27^th January and it visualises the central protagonist’s exploits on a cruise ship as he attempts to impress the other passengers via his skills, as well as his charm and wit. The ‘real men’ / non-actors are thus given the stage to showcase their legendary skills – from perfect diving, the perfect conga dance, to an incredibly impressive limbo. It’s all very colourful and stylised and soundtracked by a sublime rendition of the Brazilian world music number ‘16 Toneladas’.

Check it out here:

This post has been sponsored by Heineken but all thoughts are our own