Video Materials

A man and a beer - what a dream for some of us in these hot summer days! 

It is a well-known fact that beer drinking is a manly thing. Therefore, it could be claimed that beer commercials have a worldwide target and that they are addressing mostly men. In this blog I've decided to have a look of the international brand Heineken and its presence in TV commercials launched for Mexico and Russia. The idea here is to find out whether Heineken, as one of the world's leading beer brands and with long-standing history for more than 130 years, consider the difference of global and local,and cultural features to achieve establishment on foreign markets and to gain new consumers.

This is Heineken TV commercial named "Mexican Lies" and it was launched for Mexican audience in 2002. It is a story of two fellows having a beer at the bar. Each time when the glasses are empty, one of the men is ready to leave, but the other one says: "The last and we leave". The commercial ends up with the slogan: "Una de la tres mentiras del mexicano" - which means "one of the three Mexican lies". It is said that Mexicans are fairly laid back and fun loving people, always enjoying the company of their family and friends. Having a chat with the neighbor or having a drink with a friend is something ordinary for the Mexican everyday life. And this is actually what Heineken expresses with this commercial - an everyday situation, a beer for every day. What gains the consumers' attention here is not the product or the quality of the product, but the use of satire implying a specific behavior of the local Mexican life-styles. The commercial won in 2002 ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards.

The Heineken TV commercial launched for Russian audience is a sequence of images expressing feeling of prestige and sophisticated lifestyle. The music accompanying this spot is from the song called "The Golden Age" by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. 

Russian consumers are with highly national awareness and their consumption attitude is generally driven by two major factors - price and perceived image. If we take a closer look back in the history of Russia, then we'll find out that the Russian Golden Age is a period of blooming literature, arts and culture life. Russians are also considered to be well-educated people and to be fond of going to the theater. The implication of these issues can be found in the images of the red carpet, the piano and the jewelry egg stand. Consequently it can be said that the commercial reveals some connections to the consumers' national identity, but none to the country of brand origin.

According to the model described by Müller (2011: 23), Heineken International applies a strategy that is individualized and enriched by local specificity (localization) in order to achieve establishment on the foreign markets of Mexico and Russia.