It was back in the summer of 2014 that Neil Patrick Harris did his first ads for Heineken Light, via Wieden + Kennedy New York. From the beginning, the campaign has had a meta humor, wryly commenting on beer advertising generally—including, in one of the early spots, Harris why pondering why there are rules prohibiting him from drinking on TV.
W+K is now off the Heineken account, replaced by Publicis, but the 43-year-old Emmy and Tony Award winner continues to advertise the Light brand.
Here's the latest 15-second spot, which broke Tuesday:
AdFreak caught up with Harris to ask him why he's still doing the Heineken Light work, what he thinks of the writing, and whether he actually drinks the stuff.
You've been doing Heineken Light ads since 2014. What convinced you to sign on at the beginning?
I'm a fan of supporting products that are adjacent to my own life and interests. When Heineken first approached me, I appreciated that they thought I would be a good fit to promote their beer—instead of a super alpha male type. I like to think I'm alpha male adjacent, and it's been very cool that these last few years have gone so well. Now, here we are again!
Why are you the right person to advertise this brand?
Aside from being a true fan of the beer (really … I am the proud owner of a Heineken Light kegerator), I think it's a fit because Heineken Light has a humor to it and isn't afraid to make jokes and take chances. Each new campaign allows us to continue to build on our years of refined beverage hilarity. And of course I love to work with any team that allows me to ad-lib and have a beer on-set.
Can you describe the humor here, and why it works for this product?
This newest installment of the campaign is all about "impossible feats." Many think it's impossible to brew a great tasting light beer since a lot of the light ones lose their taste in order to cut calories. Heineken Light stands out from the rest since it uses cascade hops—which are typically found in craft IPAs. So with that, Heineken Light has done "the impossible," and that's where we get to play with the humor of what else is considered impossible. I'm a magician, so challenging the impossible is kind of my thing.
Many of the ads are quite meta in their treatment of beer advertising clichés. What do you think of that approach, and of the sly quality of the writing?
One of my favorite things about working with Heineken Light is their trademark wit. The writers are awesome in that they've found ways to make each campaign different and continually funny—even letting me go off the cuff and put my own spin on things. I love working on an ad campaign with a beer that can poke fun at itself. Is it meta that I'm talking about my own humor here?
Do you add much to the scripts, in embellishing or improvising, or are the ads shot basically as written?
We do shoot as written, and then a bunch of takes that are totally unscripted. Ad-libbing, embellishing and improvising are all part of the fun. Add beer into that equation, and I'm pretty unstoppable. One of the great things about my partnership with Heineken Light is that we both share and appreciate a sense of cheeky humor.
How would you describe the character you're playing?
I get to be pretty true to myself in our Heineken Light ads—something that was important to me, and to Heineken. I think my shining personality and wit has been well represented in each campaign installment. This newest spot felt very organic. I got to use my hypnotizing skills while enjoying a Heineken Light.
Will you stick with Heineken for the long term?
We're in a pretty committed relationship these past four years. These things don't end easily.
What other current advertising do you admire, if any?
I'm actually a big Netflix watcher, so not up to date with the latest advertising. I'll let you know after the Super Bowl.
And you actually do drink Heineken Light?
I really have a Heineken Light tap installed at my house. Seriously. It's amazing.
Check out some more recent Heineken Light ads with NPH below:
CREDITS
Client: Heineken
Campaign Title: Best Tasting Light Beer
Agency: Publicis New York
Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Chief Creative Officer, Publicis New York: Andy Bird
EVP, Executive Creative Director, Publicis New York: Joe Johnson
VP, Creative Director, Publicis New York: Jason Gorman
VP, Creative Director, Publicis New York: Einav Jacubovich
VP, Creative Director, Publicis New York: Jeremy Filgate
Associate Creative Director, Publicis New York: Lindsay Cliett
Associate Creative Director, Publicis New York: John-Paul Cannucciari
Copywriter, Publicis New York: Patrick Merritt
VP, Executive Producer, Publicis New York: Tim LeGallo
Associate Producer, Publicis New York: Rachel Tierney
EVP, Group Account Director, Publicis New York: Kathryn Harvey
Worldwide Account Director, Publicis Italy: David Pagnoni
VP, Group Account Director, Publicis New York: Shari Lederman
Production Company: Park Pictures
Director: Terri Timely
Line Producer: Dave Lambert
Editorial Company: Prodigious
Editor: Terence Ziegler
Executive Producer: Beth Fitzpatrick
Visual Effects Company: Art Jail
Executive Producer: John Skeffington
Producer: Adriana Wong