SCMF Musings: New Most Interesting Man Looks Familiar...

In our NVC the 0626 Edition, we wrote about the campaign Dos Equis and their agency Havas Worldwide New York were doing to get folks to go to the Dos Equis website and find out where they ranked in the “Interesting Index.” The tease ads used sportscaster Erin Andrews and actor Luis Guzmán, noting she was 5,008th and he was 8,507th (allegedly based on an assessment of their Facebook profiles).

This apparently was a stop-gap measure to keep Dos Equis top-of-mind while the company and its parent, Heineken USA worked on finding the next “Most Interesting Man.”

We just learned that they found their man and are working on a unleashing him in a campaign that coincides with the sponsorship of the College Football Playoffs in October.
Wait… what?!

AdAge showed this…

Which looked to us like this…

Separated at birth perhaps? Or is this the look that all “interesting” young men will sport?

Introducing Augustin Legrand, a relatively unknown French actor (who maybe has an interesting Facebook page… Investigate we will). Here he is in the teaser ad posted by Dos Equis.

“The meaning of ‘interesting’ has evolved over the past decade, and this campaign features a new character and look and feel that opens the door to a world of interesting possibilities for today’s Dos Equis drinker,” said Andrew Katz, vice president of marketing for Dos Equis, in a statement.

Here’s the Scoop…

AdAge found out what the key differences were from the previous Most Interesting Man campaign. Per Mr. Katz:

The women will play a more active role in the storytelling. In the past they were very passive, they were just there, and I think now they will be more central to some of the stories we tell.
The entire campaign will play out in the present time. The old spots relied on footage of a younger version of the man, suggesting a bygone era, with some current-day scenes sprinkled in.

…The storytelling will change from a guy who is looking back on his life to a guy who is living life right now in real time…

More on Mr. Legrand (AKA The Not Michael Phelps – Most Interesting Man)

Mr. Legrand also owns several farm-to-table restaurants.
In France, Mr. Legrand has a reputation as a left-wing activist on behalf of the homeless.
In 2009, he was elected as a regional councillor for Ile-de-France for the Europe Ecology-Green Party, the Independent reported.
He’s also a voice against what the French call “la malbouffe” — bad food, as in processed, American-style junk food or fast food.

Humm…

AWSI, as long as Mr. MIM Legrand doesn’t have to eat — say McDonald’s garlic fries or Cheetos — when he’s “in character,” or take offense when his Dos Equis ad is placed within a pod of junk food / fast food ads, during the game, he could have an extended life in this new role. Only time will tell.

We’ll be watching closely to see if we take to Mr. Legrand’s MIM like we did with the Hemingway-esque, Jonathan Goldsmith.