Doogie Howser (Almost) Drinks Heineken Light for W+K NY

From a kid in scrubs to a man with an angry inch, Neil Patrick Harris is quite possibly our leading example of a Renaissance Dude. The star may now add “drinking beer” to his illustrious resume along with acting, singing, cooking and talking to Smurfs.

Well, sort of…

According to The New York Times and Stuart Elliott, NPH (as the cool kids call him) will help promote Heineken Light in a humorous campaign created by Wieden + Kennedy New York that includes television and online spots and a microsite: besttastinglight.com.

The Dutch frothy beverage brewer needs something to kickstart its brand equity in the market according to data from the trade publication Beer Marketer’s Insights. Sales fell 36.7 percent from 2007 to 2012 and market share declined to 0.2 percent from 0.3 percent.

So it’s Neil Patrick Harris to the rescue. The former Mr. Howser will serve as the face of Heineken Light for the next 18 months as part of an endorsement deal for an undisclosed sum after scoring a deal with the Heineken USA division of the Dutch brewer.

“Everything in marketing should start with a consumer insight,” said Nuno Teles, chief marketing officer of Heineken USA in New York, and here it was that “40 percent of 21- to 27-year-old consumers desire a light beer with full taste.”

“Since forever, Heineken has stood out for distinctive taste, and Heineken Light should,” Mr. Teles said, so “the most important thing driving the campaign” will be “the improvement of the liquid.”

Thankfully, Harris will at no point refer to the product as “the liquid.”