Publicis launched a holiday effort for Heineken featuring Benicio del Toro, who also starred in last February’s “Famous.”
This time around, Benicio shows off his acting prowess by pretending to like all the gifts he receives from his family. The only gift he really cares for is the one he bought for himself: a twelve pack of Heineken. Believable!
“Traditions,” the latest in the agency’s “There’s more behind the star” campaign, highlights that the brand is “Family owned since 1873.”
As Adweek points out, that’s a pretty ridiculous selling point given that, while technically family owned, Heineken is a global conglomerate with some 170 brands and around $20 billion of revenue.
That’s not the only aspect of the ad that falls flat, though. Its premise has become a tired one for holiday ads in recent years. Last year alone saw Jeff Goldblum starring in AMV BBDO’s “Spare the Act” for Currys PC World and adam&eveDDB showing viewers how to “Avoid #GiftFace” for Harvey Nichols. “Traditions” not only fails to bring anything new to the trope, it also just isn’t as entertaining as the aforementioned spots.