Last time we saw a Heineken viral they were putting their own spin on the video prank genre in a gloriously over the top attempt to find a new apprentice. They and budget busting agency Wieden + Kennedy have returned though with a much glossier effort for another round of Champion's League ad action.
Much like the previous effort our Heineken hero is gifted a ticket to a Champion's League game, the final at Wembley no less. Unlike The Candidate though its not as simple as just walking out on the pitch and aiding the rippling of a flag this time the guy has to make his way around the world to see Bayern overcome Barça (writer's prediction).
There is no real comparison to make between the two recent adverts obviously with the drinks brand reverting to previous cinematic efforts both directed by Frederic Bond but once again Heineken are employing a forward thinking approach to the use of social media with fans being able to interact with brand ambassadors including long range goal maestro Clarence Seedorf
As you can see the smooth operator we saw dancing rings around the restaurant and the Ambassador's reception a few months ago is back in the form of a drummer given the opportunity of a lifetime.
There is a lot of ingenuity to his tricks as he negotiates the various global roadblocks with a little bit of a magic and a little bit of charm. One can't help but think he was just a bit lucky to just be wearing the same shoes as the billionaire though... or did I not get that? Anyway he charmed his way onto that helicopter well enough.
We've got an interesting twos-up from here from Heineken in terms of video marketing, they are succeeding in covering all the bases with a highly sharable viral with a great use of social media and an excellent company case study as a bi-product. With this latest though they have a quality glossy effort, the kind you'd be happy to watch on a pre-roll or in the cinema - its slick, its silly but its still very sharable.