Dos Equis has announced that it will retire its long-running ad campaign centered on “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”
The popular ad series starring character actor Jonathan Goldsmith has been on the air since 2006, but the beer company feels it is time to move on with a new spokesperson.
“Culture has changed very dramatically,” Andrew Katz, vice president of marketing for Dos Equis, told USA Today. “Our millennial drinker has changed quite dramatically, and the competition has only exploded with the advent of craft [beer]. We just want to make sure that the [Most Interesting Man] story evolves.”
Katz also said that Dos Equis has nearly tripled its business since the campaign began, with annual sales reaching $325.3 million in 2015. He also said that a new actor will take over as a spokesperson in a new campaign later this year.
The Most Interesting Man will of course be sent off in style. A new ad will feature him being dispatched on a one-way mission to Mars, with characters from past ads bidding him farewell.
The character has gone well beyond television, inspiring a popular Internet meme based on the character’s catchphrase, “”I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.”
“There is a real connection with the fun and authenticity of the character, which I portray with the same joy and passion that is part of my own life,” Goldsmith told USA Today.