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Dos Equis is bringing back “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” an iconic brand character and campaign that was discontinued in 2016, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The original campaign ran for 10 years and helped to more than triple the size of the beer brand, according to internal sales data from parent company Heineken USA.
“It was so iconic and part of the brand that we felt it still had a role today, even though it hasn’t been around for 10 years,” Heineken USA CMO Alison Payne said of the campaign.
The character returned for an unbranded teaser spot at College Football Playoff games on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 before a teaser campaign began this week across social media platforms, including Instagram and LinkedIn. Now dubbed the most uninteresting man in the world, the character is shown living a boring life in the suburbs filled with jigsaw puzzles, plain yogurt and beige clothes.
The campaign continues during the college football championship game on January 19th. The 60-second video explains how the character lost his edge after returning from space, hitting his head and suffering amnesia, and how he returned to his former glory after finding Dos Equis in the back of a refrigerator. The character, still played by actor Jonathan Goldsmith, will also participate in the “Sailgate” activation on the yacht during the game.
Following his return, the Most Interesting Man will continue to appear in new commercials during the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 25 and throughout the year as part of Dos Equis’ new “Stay Thirsty” brand platform. The campaign was creatively led by LePub NY in partnership with Le Truc and included Dentsu on media and TAG on social media. Activations are handled by Amplified, PR and influencers are part of MBooth, and additional influencer work is provided by Influential.
Same person, different time
Payne, who joined Heineken USA as CMO in January 2025, is very familiar with Dos Equis. The executive led Heineken’s Mexican beverage portfolio from 2018 to 2021 and oversaw campaigns following Most Interesting Man, such as the 2018 ‘Keep It Interesante’ effort.
The return of The Most Interesting Man comes with nostalgia for cultural touchstones and beloved advertising campaigns. It remains a frequent strategy for marketers looking to reconnect with existing fans and create new ones. For Dos Equis, the characters are returning to a different world than the one they left in 2016, a time when the size and scope of the social digital media landscape exploded.
“We were very conscious that we weren’t just re-pressing what we had before. We had a decade of fantastic archives, but it was important to modernize it,” Payne said. “We’re going to have a much bigger role in the social space. We prefer the ‘Dos Equis’ line when we do… not always, so we can rely on whatever’s happening culturally. Now we can take a much more active role.”
It was also the character’s continued popularity that informed Dos Equis’ decision to revive the campaign. According to brand survey data, 84% of consumers who were exposed to the original campaign would like to see it return, and 82% said there was nothing comparable in the category. This popularity was evident even to audiences who were not of drinking age during the campaign’s initial run, as the character persisted as a part of memes and internet culture.
“We retested the ad and had a brand recall rate of about 97%, which was driven by the fact that he lived on in memes and that famous line became part of pop culture,” Payne said. “We think it’s time to bring him back, but it’s not a very normal way to do it. As Dos Equis, we always ask ourselves, ‘Could other beer brands do this?’ And the answer has to be no.”
Great expectations despite headwinds
The Most Interesting Man returns at a difficult time for Dos Equis, its parent company Heineken, and the beer category overall are facing headwinds. Heineken CEO and Chairman Dolf van den Brink this week announced plans to leave the company at the end of May, just three months after the beer giant announced plans for a wide-ranging reorganization.
Nonetheless, beer remains a staple in American households, and while the category is declining, imported premium beers, especially Mexican imports like Dos Equis, are the fastest-growing segment, says Payne, who has high hopes for the new campaign.
“It’s fair to say (the brand’s) advertising has become a little bit safe and a little boring, and this (campaign) does something really different,” the executive said. “Ten years ago, we completely broke all the rules for advertising in the beer category. It wasn’t about people standing around a barbecue.”
The brand plans to continue bringing irreverent and unexpected activations to the category, from advertising to social content to point-of-sale materials. And Dos Equis’s pitch as a beer for social gatherings with interesting people was reinforced by marketing from its sister brand, Heineken. Heineken encouraged consumers to put aside technology and meet in real life through a series of engaging campaigns.
“With Dos Equis, we’re encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone a little bit, get back to the pub and live a life full of stories they can tell their friends,” Payne said. “He’s not just the most interesting guy. He’s very attractive. People want to have a beer at the bar with him because he lives a life rich in stories, and that’s what creates real life connections.”
