Top 10 Funny Beer Commercials

Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages known to civilization. The fascinating history of beer dates back to ancient Sumeria, the ‘cradle of civilization’. Clay tablets that tell the story of Gilgamesh describe precisely how beer was prepared, the various types of beer, how its brewing and selling were carried out, how it was stored and consumed. This is the oldest written recipe in the world…and it’s for beer!

Egyptians carried on the tradition of beer brewing and left behind the richest documentation of ancient brewing practices. They often used beer in religious ceremonies. Pharaohs were promised ‘bread which doesn’t crumble and beer which doesn’t turn sour’. The Egyptians taught the Greeks how to brew beer and the Romans were taught in turn by the Greeks. The Romans considered beer a barbarian drink and it was only brewed in the outer areas of the Roman Empire where wine was difficult to produce.

Nowadays, beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and this massive global industry spends lots of money on advertising. The imagination of beer advertisers seems to have no limits when it comes to promoting their brands. Most of the commercials are creative and fun to watch.

Here is my Top 10 list of funny beer commercials:

10. Wedding à la Carlsberg

Carlsberg

Carlsberg is not only the world’s fourth leading brewery group, but also one of the few, if not the only, brewery group that is managed by a directorate of scientists. Their beer portfolio includes more than 490 brands. A main pillar of Carlsberg’s growth strategy is to respond vigorously and quickly to consumer trends. Beside improving, developing, or launching new products, Carlsberg spends top dollars on creating effective and humorous ads. Here is one of the ads featuring two best friends, Carls and Berg. They are bringing a last tribute to their best friend who is… getting married.

9. A Good Beer is Drunk Moderately

Bergenbier

This TV ad is a classic example why alcohol consumption should be carefully moderated. According to a study conducted by the Leicester University, the old claim that men walk home with less attractive women because of drinking too much alcohol is nothing but a myth. The Belfast Telegraph reported that university study showed that “(…) overall participants who drank alcohol actually rated all the women in the photos as less attractive, compared to the participants who hadn’t drunk alcohol. This seemingly flies in the face of the commonly held notion of beer goggles.”

8. One More Beer Please!

Tuborg

Tuborg is a Danish brewing company and was founded by Carl Frederik Tietgen in 1873. The dynamic brand joined the Carlsberg Group in 1970. Beer goggles were the subject of many famous commercials throughout time, including the example shown above. Does beer make women prettier? Well, researchers say that alcohol has no effect on men’s judgement. Tell us your opinion on ‘beer goggles’.

7. Guard Squirrel

Bud Light

Anheuser-Busch is based in St. Louis, Missouri and is the largest American brewing company. Anheuser-Busch InBev wholly owns the subsidiary. Some of their most known and consumed brands include beer products such as Bud Light, Budweiser, and Michelob. After hiring a new advertising agency, DDB Chicago, Anheuser-Busch launched several animal-themed advertising campaigns. Many of the commercials, including Guard Squirrel, topped USA Today’s Ad Track. According to USA Today, “Ad Track is a weekly look at how much consumers like a major advertising campaign compared with other ads rated by this poll — and how effective they think the ads are in helping to sell the product.”

Walter the squirrel guards and protects a guy’s Bud Light. There’s no enemy too strong and no danger too great for Walter. Check out our playlist of funny beer commercials for other funny Bud Light commercials that feature animals.
6. 500,000,000 Years in 50 Seconds (noittolovE)

Guinness

“Guinness is a brand that evokes heritage, passion and quality, which has attributed to the success of this much loved beer,” says Brian Duffy, the Global Brand Director. Guinness is often associated with excellence in Marketing and PR and this is just another fantastic Guinness ad. ‘Good things come to those who wait’ was the concept behind the campaign. Read more about the making of this amazing ad at the framestore site.

5. Sharing is Caring

Miller Lite

Coors Brewing Company merged with Miller Brewing Company in 2008 to become MillerCoors. Before this, Miller Brewing was the second largest American brewing company, just behind the almighty Anheuser Busch. ‘Sharing is Caring’ was the theme chosen to bring together some famous beer lovers. It isn’t permissible to hide a Miller Lite in the fridge so that others can’t find it. While hiding is wrong, sharing is caring, right?

4. Frustrating

Carling

Molson Coors currently owns all the Carling brands and operates in major markets, such as USA, Canada and the UK. ‘Frustrating’ is one of the funniest Carling commercials I’ve seen in quite a while. There’s a woman who is upset because her partner didn’t clean up the flat. The guy was drinking beer, doing nothing. Her idea, on how to make him clean up the mess, is to splash beer all over the place.
3. Walk-In Fridge

Heineken

The Heineken beer was presented in this funny spot as the fashion focus for men. Men go crazy for walk-in fridges filled with beer and women go crazy for walk in wardrobes, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and so on. I love this commercial, however, some readers may consider it sexist. If so, feel free to file an advertising complaint with the Beer Institute or write directly to Heineken.

2. Clothing Drive

Bud Light

Banned commercials are too hot for TV, but not too hot for the Internet. This commercial wasn’t aired during the 2010 Super Bowl. It features a company that is organizing a clothing drive in the office. When word spreads that employees get a Bud Light for each donated clothing item, it’s not long before the staff is shedding inhibitions…and clothes. The result is a series of both awkward and funny moments.
Clothing Drive is the hilarious sequel to Swear Jar, another great viral ad from DDB. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded Bud Light’s ‘Swear Jar’ the Emmy for ‘Outstanding Commercial’.

1. Champions League Match vs. Classical Concert

Heineken

Hats off to the people who made this campaign happen! My no.1 is not the typical beer commercial; it’s a clever guerilla-marketing plot, brilliantly executed by Heineken and its partners. Heineken organized a fake event around the AC Milan vs. Real Madrid Champions League match – aiming to emphasize “the most sacred moment guys have left is watching football with friends. As time goes by, that moment is increasingly at risk.” Heineken convinced 200 accomplices, including university professors, various women, and directors to secretly convince their students, husbands, boyfriends and employees (over 1000 AC Milan fans) to go to a classical concert and sacrifice watching the match. Football is very important in Italy, but all of them had to go. Saying no was not an option. Check out the video to see how the classical concert went and the results of the event. Simply brilliant!

By Timeea Vinerean