During the now-tired manly man spokesperson ad trend that’s been beaten to death over the last few years, I’ve always had a soft spot for Keystone’s trucker hat-wearing mascot, Keith Stone. I guess it’s because Keith was actually a somewhat recognizable archetype, whereas his fellow manly spokesmen look nothing like the consumer they’re attempting to appeal to. The difference is that you can actually picture a dude who looks likes Keith walking into your local convenience store, grabbing a case of Keystone, and handing a series of crumpled bills and loose change from his pocket to the cashier before jumping in his rusted pickup.
There’s a degree of honesty to Keith that, when backed up by some insight, can work very well. Such is the case with the above spot, one in a trio from Saatchi and Saatchi NY and Tool director JJ Adler. What “true” guy wouldn’t agree with Keith and admit that yes, emoticons are an incredibly maddening way for other dudes to express themselves? Whenever I get a text message or IM from a friend that contains an emoticon, it’s nearly impossible not to let out a sigh of resignation. Add to that some great copy, and Keith Stone not only becomes a symbol of manliness–he becomes a symbol of integrity, dammit!
I wish I could say the same for the other two spots, both of which exchange this keen insight for the trite “guys will be guys” subjects that have existed as long as the idea of manliness has. Real men drink beer instead of eat salad? Keith, you can do better than that. If I wanted to know that men like bacon, I would ask the Dr. Pepper 10 guy. One more spot about fist-bumping along with credits follows after the jump.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi NY
Chief Creative Officer: Conway Williamson
Creative Directors: Justin Ebert, Alex Lea
Associate Creative Directors: Ian Falcon, Ron Villacarillo
Producer: Ian Kelly
Senior Art Director: Jacqueline Mellow
Senior Copywriter Mike Maher
Junior Art Director: Taylor Lucas
Junior Copywriter: Nick Marchese
Executive Account Director: John Dunleavy
Account Supervisor: Connor Bryant
Account Executive: Frances Edwards
Assistant Account Executive: Woody Wright
Project Manager: Kelly Glass
Business Manager: Thalia Tsouros
Production Company: Tool
Director: JJ Adler
Executive Producers: Brian Latt, Oliver Fuselier, Dustin Callif
Editorial: Cut+Run NY
Editor: Alex Dondero
Executive Producer: Rana Martin
Audio: audioEngine NY
Engineer: Eric Hoffman