The Most Interesting Man in the World

The Most Interesting Man in the World is an advertising campaign for Dos Equis beer, produced by the marketing firm Euro RSCG for Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, according to Wikipedia.

The ads feature Jonathan Goldsmith as "the world's most interesting man" and are narrated by Frontline's Will Lyman. Goldsmith has stated that his friend, actor Fernando Lamas -- an Argentine-born actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas -- was an inspiration for the character.

The advertisements first began appearing in the United States in 2006. They beat the crap out of the Energizer Bunny, I have to say.

I have enjoyed these commercials a lot, and I will actually stop fast-forwarding through commercials when one of them pops up. Ever since I watched the first one, which can be seen here, when I drink beer, I will go for a Dos Equis, if the bar I am in serves it bottled. I do, however, prefer Tecate, when I am in that Southwestern mood. But I still love those commercials -- as do others, apparently.

"The most interesting thing about the man who plays the Most Interesting Man in the World, in those TV ads for Dos Equis beer, is that he is interesting, too, perhaps even superlatively so," writes the New Yorker.

At museums, he’s allowed to touch the art. . . . His blood smells like cologne. . . . Sharks have a week dedicated to him. . . . He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels. . . . The police often question him, just because they find him interesting.

"These lines are recited gravely by the narrator of “Frontline” over faux-grainy clips of our Man cliff-diving in Acapulco, or splashing down in a space capsule, or lying in a hospital bed stitching up a wound on his own shoulder while surgeons and nurses stand around idly, chuckling at his jokes," the New Yorker writes.

"Goldsmith is not this man. Still, he has more in common with him than you do. A montage of highlights from the real life of Jonathan Goldsmith might include (had there been cameras present) footage of him rescuing a stranded climber on Mt. Whitney, saving a drowning girl in Malibu, sailing the high seas with his friend Fernando Lamas (the inspiration for his Interesting persona and, according to Goldsmith, “the greatest swordsman who ever lived in Hollywood”), and starting a successful network marketing business (“I was a hustler, a very good hustler”), which, for a while, anyway, enabled him to flee Hollywood for an estate in the Sierras. Among the outtakes might be glimpses of his stint as a waterless-car-wash entrepreneur. “I love the old philosophers,” he said. “I have a large library. I am not a die-hard sports fan. I love to cut wood.”

Read more: Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World : The New Yorker

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