In an adage as old as advertising, we know that “humour sells” and, maybe not that surprisingly, it sells even better when alcohol is involved. It seems given that TV ads for wine or spirits will try to seem as classy as possible, with people in suits and evening dresses networking and communicating with each other without words. But in the case of beer ads, the funny door has been left wide open and the funny beer commercial has become a staple of American TV, dominating the Super Bowl half-time and becoming an institution in itself. Luckily enough, since the Internet has become a depository of most things past and present, many of these commercials can be watched any time on YouTube. Here are 7 funny beer commercials that are guaranteed to make you laugh.
1. Bud Light
While many of the beer ads you will find on YouTube are labelled as “banned commercial”, most of those were actually never intended for use on television, but were devised for online distribution only. Such is the case of this 90 seconds spot from Bud Light, the king of funny beer commercials that explores the lengths an entire office would go for free Bud.
2. Bud Light (again)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA6SO3-cyYU
Why did I call Bud Light the king of funny beer commercials? See for yourself: “Bud Light. The perfect beer for when you somehow find yourself in a limo with Reggie Watts and some bachelorettes, then get styled by Minka Kelly before Don Cheadle, a llama named Lilly, and the identical twin of the girl you just met take you to a party, where you defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger in a sudden-death ping pong match, that puts you onstage with OneRepublic.”
3. Brahma Beer
This series of three Brazilian ads for Brahma raises some interesting questions, the most important one being why aren’t there more beer ads that feature a dribbling, beer-thirsty, car-thieving, lady-seducing turtle that roams the desert. While we might never know the answer to that question, we do know that one way to make your ad popular beyond the borders of your country or of your language is to use as little speech as possible in your ad, seeing how a turtle dribbling a can of beer is universally understood as being hilarious.
4. Hahn
This ad plays on exactly the trope mentioned in the intro, building a stereotypically classy and vaguely sensual ad – presumably for some sort of bath product – just to throw it into chaos with the arrival of the beer consumer, a knowingly unsophisticated creature who clearly has a radically different opinion on what relaxation looks like.
5. Heineken
Celebrities are also often used in beer ads, providing not just an endorsement, but a familiar face to help the commercial seem more professional and using sitcom legend Jennifer Aniston as one of the two main characters of a short, funny Heineken ad is sure to give viewers the “Friends” nostalgia that makes this one special.
6. Heineken (again)
This Dutch commercial for Heineken was one of the most popular beer ads of the last few years. Many of the funny beer commercials on this list and on YouTube derive their humour by playing with gender differences and this ad makes it very clear that men, the main target demographic of this advertisement, have very different things to be excited about than their female counterparts.
7. Keystone Light
A perfect example of cringe humour used to its maximum effect, this Keystone Light ad uses a situation that is likely to have happened to many of its viewers in a way that makes you feel both amused, embarrassed and sympathetic towards the main character.