Bottoms up! for Heineken’s “Walk-in Fridge” Commercial

Every year, companies try to create the best commercial advert that will be aired on televisions worldwide. This is because a well made commercial would equal big bucks for the company. 2010 was full of great commercials including the very talked about Old Spice; however, I would have to say that Heineken’s “Walk-in Fridge” was by far my favourite. The commercial features guests at a housewarming party, with the hostess showing her friends her new walk-in closet; the girls shriek and scream because of this. On the other room however, the same noise is made because the guys had a fabulous little space too- a walk-in fridge full of Heineken lager.

I remember my brother calling me over to watch the ad (being a marketing major, he gets excited about these things), and as I watched it on TV, that commercial was immediately etched to my mind. It was so memorable for me in fact, that whenever I see a Heineken bottle, I immediately remember the commercial and can’t help but laugh inside my head. To date, the commercial has accumulated over 4 million views on YouTube alone, with 2.5 million of those views gathered in a span of only 3 months. I think a very important part of what makes a commercial like this very memorable is the humour factor attached to it. Audiences want to be entertained; and humour just has a way of grabbing people’s attention.  Julia Rodger, Heineken UK brand manager, says: “Walk in Fridge…plays cleverly and effectively on the popularity of advertisements which use humour to engage viewers and increase their viewing enjoyment whilst conveying the brand’s premium nature, authenticity and desirability.” We can’t accurately tell whether this ad has increased Heineken’s sales but it most definitely got the brand out there. Toast to Heineken for this one!