Heineken: Walk-In Fridge
Beer has existed for over 6000 years and it is a part of various cultures worldwide. It has been part of the American culture since before the declaration of independence. In accordance with the Brewer’s Handbook, about 80% of the drinkers that consumes beer are men. As one of the top players in the beer-producing market, Heineken launches this short 30 sec ad which plays effectively and cleverly on the popularity of beer advertisements, draws on the audiences’ humor to engage viewers and pre-existing stereotypes whilst conveying the brand’s desirability and premium nature.
The advertisement starts with a house-warming party with most characters in their early 30s. Everyone is well dressed and the event takes place at a luxurious apartment. The hostess was showing some of her friends her new apartment. The next scene shows the hostess surprises her friends with the walk-in closet filled with clothes and shoes and immediately the friends shrieked in exhilaration. At this point, most viewers would have assumed that it was a fashion ad with female characters overacting in sight of vogue products. What ensues in the video is the noise from men screaming and cheering, which interferes with the women’s celebration and forces it to a halt, as they look bewildered and startled. The next scene introduces new group of characters, male this time, screaming and cheering in similar fashion as the women in the previous scene. Except this time, the characters are in a walk-in fridge filled with Heineken beers, neatly organized and displayed as one would with clothes. The scene ends with the women investigating the commotion, looking just as confused as they were previously. The company’s logo: “Heineken, give yourself a good name” is shown at the end of the commercial.
The success of this advertisement lies on the audiences’ pre-existing stereotypes on masculinity versus femininity. In the commercial, the females express their happiness in sight of a closet filled with fashion products and clothes. This scene suggests to the audience that beauty and fashion products symbolize the materials of femininity. On the other hand, the men in the advertisement demonstrated an equal amount of excitement when they came across a walk-in fridge teeming with Heineken beer. It’s obvious that Heineken was attempting to portray their beer as a symbol of masculinity. Heineken does an excellent job exploiting the two most commonly accepted stereotypes and use one (women and beauty) to enforce its message on the other (men and beer) through parallel comparison. Heineken is delivering its message very clearly: “Beer makes men as happy as women do when comes to clothes and fashion”.
This advertisement is an excellent example of how companies advertise their products using pathos and logos. The use of logos can be recognized in the use of stereotypes in Heineken’s advertisement. The generalized stereotypes on men’s desire for beer and women’s love for material possessions act as the main logos of the advertisement. The use of pathos in the commercial is effective as this is what captures the audience’s attention. The men’s emotions in the advertisement, by having them squeal like their female counterparts, seem to indicate that it is bizarre for men to express their emotion in such a manner as this action is generally considered by the community to be more of a feminine behavior, which creates an arousing and humorous effect on its viewers.
The targeted audience in this commercial is wealthy young men in their 30s who can afford Heineken. The entire commercial takes place in a posh condo, which is not just any regular condo, as it consists of a walk-in fridge and a walk-in closet. The idea of