Andes Beer: The Fairest Night
Andes Beer tasked Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi with empowering ordinary men. The client wanted to give "regular" guys a fairer, more enjoyable night out, as they often felt overshadowed by attractive men. The challenge was to ingeniously remove this social competition, making Andes Beer the champion for these men and enhancing their brand affinity.
Creative Idea
Andes Beer faked a casting call to lure attractive men out of bars, improving odds for the rest.
Andes Beer created a clever marketing campaign by holding a fake casting call for attractive men, which secretly allowed ordinary men to have their own special night out while these attractive men were occupied. The brand ingeniously gave "regular" men a chance to enjoy their night by removing the typically intimidating attractive men from the social scene.
The Night Mendoza's Hunks Were Held Captive
340 Men and a Slow Motion Audition
To ensure the city’s bars remained clear of "competition," the production team at Agosto had to keep over 340 participants engaged in a studio for the duration of a Saturday night. Directed by Diego Núñez Irigoyen, the crew kept the ruse alive by forcing the men to perform increasingly absurd and exhausting tasks. These included posing for hours and walking in slow motion to simulate "cinematic" effects. The men were never told it was a prank; their genuine reactions of confusion and eventual amusement upon the dawn reveal provided the raw footage that fueled the final film.
Engineering a Fairer Social Ecosystem
The campaign was a masterclass in "hackvertising," physically altering the social environment of an entire city to prove a brand promise. Rob Reilly of McCann Worldgroup famously praised the work for its "bravery" and its ability to "explode culture." By removing the "hunks," Andes Beer generated millions of social media impressions and international coverage from Adweek and The Drum. This stunt followed a lineage of "Andes Universe" innovations, such as the Teletransporter and Friendship Guard, which positioned the brand as a tactical "wingman" for its core demographic.
The Creative Architecture of a Prank
The project was led by Executive Creative Directors Ariel Serkin, Juan Pablo Lufrano, and Rafael Santamarina. While the primary goal was brand affinity, the campaign’s success was measured by its massive earned media reach, effectively turning a local Mendoza activation into a global case study for Brand Utility. It remains a staple in advertising education as a prime example of how a brand can provide a physical service - even a mischievous one - to its loyal customers.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Andes Beer, a regional powerhouse in Mendoza, leverages its identity as a cheeky, relatable brand that prioritizes its local male community's social success over traditional polish.
Category
Beer marketing usually relies on aspirational imagery and perfect models, creating a standard of attractiveness that makes the actual consumer feel like a background character.
Customer
Average men feel social anxiety and romantic competition in nightlife settings, often feeling overshadowed by more conventionally attractive men who dominate the room's attention.
Culture
There is a rising sentiment against unattainable beauty standards and a desire for fairness, making the act of leveling the playing field a resonant, humorous gesture.
Company
Andes Beer, a regional powerhouse in Mendoza, leverages its identity as a cheeky, relatable brand that prioritizes its local male community's social success over traditional polish.
Category
Beer marketing usually relies on aspirational imagery and perfect models, creating a standard of attractiveness that makes the actual consumer feel like a background character.
Strategy:
Remove social competition to let the average man own the night, positioning Andes as the ultimate wingman.
Customer
Average men feel social anxiety and romantic competition in nightlife settings, often feeling overshadowed by more conventionally attractive men who dominate the room's attention.
Culture
There is a rising sentiment against unattainable beauty standards and a desire for fairness, making the act of leveling the playing field a resonant, humorous gesture.
Strategy:
Remove social competition to let the average man own the night, positioning Andes as the ultimate wingman.
Results
More than 370 "hunks" showed up for the casting. This effectively increased the chances for "regular" guys by 370 that night.
370
'hunks' showed up for casting
370x
increased chances for 'regular' guys
Strategy Technique
Start With a Tension
The campaign identified the unspoken social tension ordinary men felt when overshadowed by attractive men. Andes Beer then created a solution to alleviate this discomfort, empowering its target audience.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Support the underdogs
Andes Beer actively supported ordinary men by removing their social competition. The brand championed these "underdogs," giving them a fairer, more enjoyable night out.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign ingeniously fabricated a convincing fake casting call and parallel club experience, meticulously filmed to capture the unwitting performances of the 'hunks' and the genuine revelry of the 'regular guys' for a powerful social experiment.
Designing and orchestrating the elaborate, real-world social experiment, including the convincing fake casting call and the prolonged, nonsensical interactions, was crucial to the campaign's success.
The meticulous creation of a convincing yet subtly absurd fake commercial set was paramount to tricking over 370 men and sustaining the elaborate prank for hours, making the deception believable.
Expertly capturing the authentic progression from the 'hunks'' initial confidence to their eventual confusion, juxtaposed with the genuine joy and success of the 'regular guys,' was crucial for documenting the campaign's impactful narrative.
The unwitting 'performances' of the recruited 'hunks,' transitioning from confidence to confusion, along with the authentic revelry of the 'regular guys,' were fundamental to the campaign's compelling narrative.
The campaign's impact stems from the seamless synergy between the meticulously designed social experiment, the convincing physical set, the authentic filmed capture, and the compelling unwitting performances of its participants.
