She pointed to the brand’s recent research that found 83% of people exposed to the original campaign wanted to see it return, and the old ads drove 97% brand recall.
Meanwhile, a 2024 survey from Talker Research found 1 in 4 Americans (27%) feel they’ve fallen into a mundane routine and live a somewhat boring life.
“Because of the impact of Covid and other factors, people have gotten a little safe and boring,” Payne said. “We want to encourage people to step outside their comfort zones.”
Taking the boring out of beer
This time around, the Most Interesting Man isn’t just a TV mascot—he’s also a social media personality with his own Instagram profile. While Payne said the character has cross-generational appeal, the brand also tested him among younger consumers to shape his next iteration.
“The biggest difference is back then, the campaign only lived on TV. We needed to modernize it,” she said.
The new campaign will run across social and digital media, TV, and stores, while Dos Equis and LePub will use the Most Interesting Man to respond to cultural conversations on social channels.
The other notable difference now is that the beer category is facing challenges such as inflation, declining sales, and increased competition from new beverage competitors like non-alcoholic brands. Earlier this month, Dolf van den Brink, the CEO of Dos Equis parent Heineken, stepped down amid slowing beer sales.
“We think [the return of the Most Interesting Man] is going to be a huge growth engine for the brand, bringing back that familiarity,” Payne said.
“Beer category advertising has gotten a little safe and boring,” she added. “This is pure entertainment.”
During the original Most Interesting Man campaign, which ran from 2006 to 2016, the charismatic figure helped more than triple the size of the Dos Equis brand, according to the company. He also became a cultural icon, inspiring memes, social media conversation, and Saturday Night Live skits.
