Old Milwaukee: Will Ferrell
Old Milwaukee sought to generate buzz for its value-priced beer among a broad audience. The client aimed to reinforce the brand's unpretentious image and stand out in a crowded market with a low budget, leveraging unexpected creative.
Creative Idea
Will Ferrell dramatically failed to open a cheap beer, creating unexpected humor.
Will Ferrell's dramatic, high-production-value introduction for Old Milwaukee culminates in an anticlimactic, messy beer spray, humorously subverting expectations to highlight the brand's unpretentious, no-frills identity and create memorable, shareable content.
The Super Bowl Ad That Cost Fifteen Hundred Dollars
A pro bono passion project
In a rare move for an A - list star, Will Ferrell was not paid for his involvement in the campaign. Driven by a genuine affinity for the brand, Ferrell and former SNL head writer Andrew Steele approached Pabst Brewing Company with a pitch for total creative freedom. Co - owner Daren Metropoulos bypassed traditional agency structures, allowing the duo to film guerrilla - style in locations like the Cedar Street Inn and a Cracker Barrel without advance public notice. The production utilized low - quality cameras and abrupt editing to mimic the aesthetic of 1970s local access television.
Winning the internet via North Platte
The strategy relied on "scarcity" to drive viral engagement. By purchasing airtime in North Platte, Nebraska - the second smallest TV market in the U.S. - for just $1,500, the brand bypassed the $3.5 million national Super Bowl rate. The gamble paid off when user - uploaded clips surpassed 4 million YouTube views. During the 2012 Super Bowl, the localized spot generated 1,640 Twitter mentions, dwarfing the social reach of national advertisers like Cadillac and Lexus.
Swedish entrances and bus stop romance
The campaign extended internationally to Sweden, where Ferrell - who is fluent in Swedish - filmed several bizarre spots. One notable execution, titled "InFart," featured Ferrell laughing for 30 seconds at a road sign for "entrance." Another 2013 spot featured a nearly continuous shot of Ferrell making out with an older woman on a bus, with the product only appearing in the final frames. While the campaign successfully modernized the brand for "hipster" consumers, it struggled to reverse a long - term decline in the sub - premium category, with shipments dropping 23% in the following years.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Old Milwaukee leveraged its identity as an affordable, unpretentious beer, allowing for self-deprecating humor.
Category
Beer advertising often presents aspirational, perfect scenarios, which this campaign deliberately undermined with a messy reality.
Customer
The audience appreciated authentic, self-aware humor and the unexpected use of a celebrity to endorse a budget-friendly product.
Culture
A cultural trend of valuing authenticity and anti-glamour, combined with a love for celebrity self-parody, made this approach resonate.
Company
Old Milwaukee leveraged its identity as an affordable, unpretentious beer, allowing for self-deprecating humor.
Category
Beer advertising often presents aspirational, perfect scenarios, which this campaign deliberately undermined with a messy reality.
Strategy:
Subvert category expectations through self-deprecating humor to create memorable engagement.
Customer
The audience appreciated authentic, self-aware humor and the unexpected use of a celebrity to endorse a budget-friendly product.
Culture
A cultural trend of valuing authenticity and anti-glamour, combined with a love for celebrity self-parody, made this approach resonate.
Strategy:
Subvert category expectations through self-deprecating humor to create memorable engagement.
Strategy Technique
Make the Product Misbehave
By having the beer spray unexpectedly, the campaign makes the product "misbehave" in a humorous way. This reinforces Old Milwaukee's unpretentious, no-frills image, contrasting with aspirational beer advertising.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Screw It Up Intentionally
The campaign intentionally shows the product "failing" by spraying beer, creating an unexpected, humorous moment. This subverts typical beer ad perfection, making the brand more relatable and memorable.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign masterfully uses humor through unexpected juxtaposition and brilliant comedic timing, elevated by Will Ferrell's deadpan performance.
Will Ferrell's deadpan delivery and comedic timing, especially his facial expressions from intense seriousness to utter frustration, are central to the ad's humor and impact.
The grand, epic wide shots of the field and the beautiful golden hour lighting create a visually stunning backdrop that brilliantly contrasts with the mundane and absurd product interaction, enhancing the comedic effect.
