Heineken Light - Neil Patrick Harris & The Grill Master "flip your meat" (2016)

It seems to me there's some basic code language going on here that is missed by the BBQ man who insists that you never flip another mans meat. Ah. I did not know this rule, mainly because nobody comes near my BBQ it is mine and mine alone, and also... I have no idea what the innuendo is because I am not a gay man but I am pretty sure there's some innuendo here. I feel like a kid watching my parents verbally flirt, I know something is going on but I'm not getting it. Kind of how like the meat flipping guy is so not getting it..... and I suspect a large part of the target market?

Publicis has taken over the Heineken account, and they seem to want to do exactly what Wieden + Kennedy, Portland did in 2014 with it. Back then Neil Patrick Harris argued on set with the director about drinking the beer, then rambling on about drinking beer at a pretend party, and about the rules. It was funny because it was mocking advertising regulations with a celebrity who can play ever so charmingly dense. So Publicis called Neil Patrick Harris again to try and continue the gag, and now we have ads with gay sex innuendo. Way to miss the joke made in the first campaign. Can someone please explain to me why a brand switches agency if they want the same ads they did before anyway?

As for targeting football fans and the tailgating crowd with these ads (judging by their placement on ESPN and the times), I'm not sure if this will bomb in a room full of straight guys watching the game together or simply make them uncomfortable as they try to decipher the innuendo. I mean I get it, it's a European light beer with a gay man as spokesperson, perhaps they wanted to turn it all up to eleven and we'd hit the magic funny spot, but to me it just seems a little flat. While the previous campaign was an in-joke pretty much everyone could laugh at. We all hate advertising and/or advertising regulations.

Ad agency: Publicis Worldwide

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Anonymous Adgrunt's picture
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Timothy Gray's picture

This is just plain vulgar and I dont appreciate it...Ill boycot all your products

Bear's picture

No one likes you

Diana Higginbotham's picture

Agree...this ad should be deleted.

Ami's picture

Keep the ad, delete you. That is better.

Ami's picture

That's nice. One lost customer isn't going to dampen the sales of the product. Although I really doubt if you even drink their beer. The commercial is funny and if you don't like it, don't watch it.

Bob spencer's picture

You must be a fag

Jerome's picture

The ad just takes a guy cooking steaks and wanting a cold "Heiny" to a gay boy that wants to
trade a cold one for a hand jig in the pool's transgender bathroom. Naaawww there is not a damn thing wrong with
having to explain to your 12 year old son that a pickle smoocher is doing what comes unnaturally. Or why weiner lovers
create a sterile homelife and have NO blood bond to either parent.. Why if little Tod over there wants a baby brother but who's
only hope is an approved adoption form given to Dad and Daddy. What I would like to see is a fire poker delivered right up his poop shoot.

AnonymousCoward's picture

queer executives to blame.

Valerie Tenney's picture

Just another example of where this country is headed. It is shameful, disgusting and has nothing to do with beer. This commercial will cause more uproar then it will ever sell its beer brand. Shame on the owners and shame on any channel that airs commercials of this type.

Mountain's picture

DID THAT!

Kim's picture

I saw the ad tonight on ESPN my husband and I just looked at each other and said "gross what was that". Never flip another mans meat? It was totally stupid and did not even sound like gay humor. Just dumb. Boo publicis bad job

LeeAnn's picture

Wtf is "gay humor"?

fairuse's picture

And the winner of the coveted award for stupid beer ad goes to? (Something belongs in this block)

At this point moronic beer ads pay for my complex procedural dramas in the 9 pm to 11 pm segment. If it were not for stupid beer ads who pays? Car ads, Rx ads (USA), over-the-counter-fixit patent Rx, class action legal services taking any medical thing to trial (if you or a loved one ever looked at this Rx), and other stuff that makes life easy, like a $5000 Internet icebox.

I mute all ads on TV. There is a direct connection to my Terminator brain when I hear them. Safety first.

If beer ads would just say, "This is dog piss in a can with all the alcohol your region allows and it's cold".

Mary Ann Redfern's picture

This ad is insulting and STUPID. Enough said, ugh.

Christy Schnack's picture

What a terrible commercial, even my 10 year old pointed out how vulgar it is, and NOT appropriate ...shame on you!

barb's picture

gross and inappropriate

Condor Joe's picture

That grill wasn't the only thing flaming. WTH?

Red Crowder's picture

I did like Heineken but I will not be drinking it anymore. This commercial is pure nasty. I saw it voted on & most (& I mean by ALOT) said they DO NOT like the ad. SICK ! Who needs Heineken anyway ? Lots of other good beers out there.

Mick's picture

Keep that gay crap off of TV!!!! Take it to Jupitar.

Gw's picture

It insults me everytime I hear this commercial. I'm not gay but this is so Politically Incorrect I cannot believe Heineken who makes Tecate also would be so incredibly disrespectful to the entire human race just to promote their products in such a degrading manner. What are they going to do next little children

Ginger Bennett's picture

Gross, inappropriate, not funny...children are in the living room!! Selling beer using sexual innuendos??...give our country a chance, to come back to some sense of decency!!
You don't have to be a homophobe, to resent this commercial!!! Will NEVER have another Heineken, again!!! Won't buy it, won't drink it...and will encourage others to do the same!!

Marco's picture

I am heterosexual. I have no problem with gays doing what they want as long as they keep the act and all talk about it in the bedroom. It just seems that most gays talk continually in innuendo and that is what is offensive to me. I feel the same with straight people talking openly about what should be kept in the bed room.

Polo's picture

Really? Go to hell, with your "keep the act and all talk about it in the bedroom." You are offensive to me, Marco. Do you like stereotypical talk? You must. What if I said All Hispanics are lazy and steal, they can do whatever they want as long as they do it in Mexico. How does that feel? Not very good huh....I am Mexican-American and straight, but it pisses me off when someone shoots off their uneducated and moronic mouth about someone's race or sexual orientation. Keep your mouth in the bedroom...nobody wants to hear it!

john's picture

Bunch of fuckin fags!!! Not a homophob, but I most certainly don't want my kids listening to gay innuendos on TV commercials!!! Fuckin disgusting!!! Fuck you heinikin and your gay ass meat flippers!!!

Phil's picture

This is the best an agency can come up with? Neil Harris flips men's meat every chance he gets in his private life, but to put that in a commercial to be funny? Wow! How clever. What is the follow up ad? How he also swallows anything including that beer? Decency and cleverness are gone in this country. Heineken is like a Kardashian. Crap sells. Here is another idea. Have Kim Kardashian hold a six pack of Heineken and have gay Neil Patrick say, " My straight friends would say ' nice cans', but I prefer long necks". Put that on TV. Heineken made a huge mistake. Who was their focus group?

Dave's picture

Finally thought I would google and see if there were others totally grossed out with this stupid commercial. This is supposed to make people thirsty for beer? Cringe worthy is an understatement of course.

Kenny's picture

This commercial is ridiculous and stupid,so sick of listening to this commercial over n over and my younger kids asking what is flipping another mans meat.WTF take this dum ass commercial off.

Phil's picture

How smug. The media and a beer company assume that Americans are led by the nose and accepting of vulgarity in their homes. We all like a good joke, a clever statement and a thought provoking message but to have a commercial speak to our families in that manner violates everything we are trying to protect, our families, from the deranged association and fascination these perverts want to force into our homes. You can call us all the names you want to but, hopefully their are enough moral people left in America to stand up and say enough. Heineken's last ditch effort, their last breath and hope to sell beer has crossed the line and will soon, American's hope, be labelled "the man's meat beer". Good luck.

Jen's picture

My husband and myself laughed at these comments. Big breasted women almost naked is not vulgar to promote beer, but this was inappropriate? Ad agencies have used sex to promote bubble gum and everything else. It just wasn't your type of inuendo. Wahhh.

Bob spencer's picture

This commerial only means one thing and pushing that he is gay. Everytime i see this commerial all i think everyone knows he is gay and pushing homosexuality and it's okay to be a homo. I do not believe in same-sex marriage that's my right and they should not push it on TV and it's not funny flipping another man's meat you cannot tell me Heineken Light did that on accident I don't want to see that when I'm watching TV you gotta push on your face everyday and now they're making commercials about homos

Polo's picture

Bob, just come out off the closet. You know you would love to flip another man's meat. I'm sure you've done it a million times. You sound like a big fat beer drinking, greasy in the closet homo.

AnonymousCoward's picture

Vulgar commercial.

Joe's picture

I haven't been seeing the Heineken for the past couple of day. Thank goodness. But there are some milder spin-off ads. I was waiting for Planters to come out with an ad about "not chewing on another man's nuts" That would really hurt!

Dabitch's picture

Those euphemisms were so bad I'm leaving them up to scare copywriters off from slacking.