Heineken Just Released The Ad Pepsi Couldn’t

In the wake of Pepsigate, it would seem to be a PR nightmare to release an ad that comes within a mile of some of the most debated and passionate topics regarding today’s political and civil climate.

In the 48 hours that Pepsi managed to air then pull their ad, a frenzy circulated around how distasteful the ad was and the mockery it made of social issues.

Not even supermodel Kendall Jenner could face the backlash, in fact she managed to avoid most of the surrounding crossfire by letting her team of highly skilled PR agents kick into damage control mode as she hid in the background.

Pepsi issued an apology, and the world continued to spin. Then Heineken did something that made the world stop.

They released an ad that hit all the marks Pepsi just couldn’t reach.

The new ad titled “Worlds Apart” features three sets of partners tasked with building something in a warehouse. The duos have never met each other and must work together to accomplish their task.

As the viewer meets each person, a clip of a pre-interview shows their stance on a specific topic regarding climate control, transgender issues, feminism and political affiliation.

You can quickly see where this is going. Each person is paired with their counterpart, but they don’t know this. All they know is they must pick up the instructions and get to building.

The anti-feminist is paired with the feminist, the man who doesn’t believe in climate change is partnered with the conservationist.

As each pair begins to build, they also begin to engage in small talk. They eventually reach a part in their instructions where they are asked to have a seat and pick five adjectives they believe describes the other person based on what they know about them so far.

Before you know it they are learning intimate details about each other’s lives, like living homeless and serving in the military.

Each duo becomes more friendly with one another, more open, and each group has completed their task, building a bar.

Then, two beers are placed on the bar and a projector blares the images of the pre-interviews on the warehouse wall.

This is the part where the discomfort sets in. Each person has the pleasure of watching their partner voice their opinion on the topic that binds them together.

After the pre-interview clips play, they are then told they can either sit down at the bar and discuss their viewpoints over a beer, or they can leave.

One by one each person elects to have a seat.

And that is how a beer blew soda out of the water.