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Reverse Engineering the MGD 64 Beer Commercial

January 28, 2011 24 Comments

Today we ride on a horse of a different color. MGD 64 beer commercial is playing into one of our deepest drives while maintaining a very light, funny and goofy atmosphere during the 15 seconds of advertising goodness.

Lets’ break it down!

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  • http://www.hanelly.com hanelly

    The interesting part is that none of these guys are likable. I don’t think I’m in the target (or maybe I am and they are just missing) but this type of “what the cool/handsome guys are doing” marketing puts a barrier between me and the brand marketing to me. It reminds me of the Bud Light campaign where the same thing you’ve outlined here is going on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSTxwQthl14

    It’s been interesting to watch the evolution of beer commercials from the BBB approach you mentioned to the current theme. It seems like beer marketers have tapped into bar culture pretty well though: in so many groups of friends there are the alphas, and then there is the one guy who is sort of always the butt of the jokes.

    My reaction is always “why would this dude continue to hang out with these absolute zeroes who mock him anyway?” But I thought that back in high school when the kid who’d always get picked on kept hanging out with the group that did the picking.

    I guess they are more aligned with human nature than I thought, and I guess I’m the guy they’d mock as I drank a beer, which would most definitely not be a MGD 64.

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      Holly crap..DisqUs attached the youtube video right between the comments…soooo cool :-)

      But yeah…they are tapping into the alpha thing with the not-so-subtle implication being that if you drink MGD64 (or BudLight with groves…wtf?) THAT alone will in fact make you alpha. The relationship is correlative (MGD64=alpha, alpha=MGD64)

      The way they present that is really sneaky tho…those bastards lol

      • http://www.hanelly.com hanelly

        Oh wow, it’s not even Bud Light. It’s Miller … either I’m terrible at paying attention or their branding didn’t sink in.

        Anyway, the argument she gives (“because it has grooves”) is so thin and to a beer-drinker, doesn’t really matter at all. It gives credence to the theory that one should “listen” to the argument because of other cues:

        1. I’m more attractive than you
        2. I’m smarter than you (because I “get” what you clearly don’t get)
        3. How dare you question me when you’re such a goofy bastard to begin with

        • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

          Humans often make a mistake of confusing confidence for competence. The two, as it turns out, are not related lol

  • http://twitter.com/WilsonPetDesign Nia

    I don’t agree with your analogy on this one…. I’m looking at it from the Casting & the Actor’s method of morphing into the character, which would explain posturing and etc.

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      Do you think that in these commercials actors are give a free range to morph into the character? Or do you think its likely that the director is calling the shots? Take the consistency of all 3 spots into consideration while you’re at it.

  • http://www.guidegoods.blogspot.com Edwin

    Great video :) love these type of posts.

    Also what related posts plugin do u use?

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      Thnx Edwin. The plugin is called IGIT Related Posts With Thumb. Also, you may want to check out LinkWithin.

  • http://live-your-love.com/ Brankica U

    Just one mistake in your video.

    You are soooooo much better looking than the goofy dudes in the video :)

    I love these videos you make. Thanks for mentioning me!!! At least you can pronounce my name.

    Where the heck did you find these monkeys, ha ha ha????

    Don’t shave, Dinooooooooooooooooooooooo……OK, man you got me addicted to your blog!!!!!

    LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      lol…thnx Brankica…I have another video coming out on Monday and there is a link to your blog in that post as well. :-)

      • http://www.murlu.com Murray

        Love it Dino!

        Man, the first thing I noticed in the first video was that the entire bar was packed with that beer.

        The only problem though (and maybe this is a good thing overall) is that I would never drink that beer – cause I’m not a douchebag, I don’t care about my calories when I’m drinking and it comes across as snobby – plus, who’s gonna say “hey, have you had that mgd 64whateverthefuckthatis”.

        Now, it probably makes perfect sense to hit the type of people that want to actually drink that beer but, overall, I think it’s a pretty shit product haha.

        Hey yoooo, do the head on commercials afterward :P

        • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

          I had to look up to see wth is Head On commercial…wow, what a piece of crap lol Maybe I’ll include that in the “what NOT to do” series lol

  • http://www.stevescottsite.com Steve Scott

    It must be me, but like Murray all those guys come off as “douches” to me. But I am certainly not MGD 64′s target market. Your analysis was superb, even down to the “grooming” standards part with the monkeys. Awesome stuff. I certainly look forward to some more. :)

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      Its some subversive shit, isnt it? I dont know if you had a chance to check out the state farm analysis (link above) but I think you’ll enjoy it :-)

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  • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

    Um. You have your shirt on inside out (I love Milk Duds in movie theater popcorn – it gets all gooey and chocolate-y). I love the breakdown, especially the tips on grooming. LOL!

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      Did you know that in some cultures people wear their under garments inside out on purpose? The belief is that it acts as a deflector for bad vibes.

  • http://twitter.com/Anklebuster Mitchell Allen

    Dino, That was very educational. It helps me to remember that there are some very smart people doing these creatives.

    And we thought “subliminal messages” were outlawed. LOL

    Great analysis!

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      Funny thing you bring up subliminal advertising. One study that everyone cites turns out was never actually performed. And subsequent studies showed that its totally ineffective.

      Now, since humans have 3 brains (rational, emotional and reptilian) and 2 halves (right and left side) plus additional, smaller, specialized areas for processing visual, auditory, signals and such, it is possible to register “funny” on the surface level (in the reptilian and emotional brain) and status level at the reptilian level.

      Is this considered subliminal? I dunno…I dont think so. But than again, subliminal is just a label.

      Sorry…I dont mean to go on and on…I understand what you’re saying and I was just working it out for myself on “paper” lol

      Thnx for visiting and commenting Mitch, its very much appreciated. I hope you check out the reverse engineering of state farm and I’m doing another one later in the week on Deadspace II

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  • Anonymous

    Couldn’t agree more. The same reason why beautiful, perfect women are in beauty products commercials (with handsome men starring at them). The message: use this product and you’ll be pretty, attracting handsome guys.

    The question is: Do we fall for that? I guess us, who are so marketing aware, don’t.

    These ‘tricks’ assume that people will “fall” for this, which makes us think the target audience is somewhat less educated and easy to manipulate. I mean – you’ll continue to be fat and un-groomed (if that’s how u like to be) and goofy – even if you drink this beer….

    Doesn’t this commercial ‘trick’ weak people? Or doesn’t this take for granted that most of the consumers are weak?

    • http://diyblogger.net/about Dino Dogan

      I think we do fall for it, even marketing types. Unless we are aware of the machinations and actually bring them out into the light of day, I think we do fall for it without even realizing it.

      You know what….I think you just gave me an idea for a post :-)

      • Anonymous

        Can’t wait to read it. :-)

        You’re my newest most favorite blogger – you and Tristan Highbee actually (to be radically honest).