Heineken Goes on a Date

By Bob Marshall 

It’s safe to say that right now the ad world isn’t just drinking the W+K Kool-Aid, it’s chugging it like a freshman rushing a frat. But, when you see a 92-second beer commercial you want to watch over and over again, it’s hard to hate on those Portland-based Trailblazers.

“The Date” is the spiritual sequel to “The Entrance,” which since December has racked up over 3.5 million views on YouTube. Like it’s predecessor, “The Date” uses the same visually stimulating camera work and Bollywood meets Hong Kong cinematic feel to re-brand Heineken as the choice of cultural and vibrant young lovers. I can’t imagine what kind of budget Heineken gave W+K Amsterdam and director Fredrik Bond to play with, but one would assume it was staggering. But, W+K accurately captured an interesting phenomenon with this ad’s long run time and cast of characters, that being the fact that every guy has fantasized about taking a girl on a date that goes almost exactly this way. Honestly, I think this is the first time I’ve seen that feeling presented so well, and that’s why “The Date” has a leg up on its predecessor. We’ll see if it pays off for Heineken.

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