Think about the slogan, Probably the best lager in the world, presented to you on a piece of paper. Now you know how brave Carlsberg is. Putting its trust in 72andSunny Amsterdam’s slogan has led to one of the most memorable beer campaigns in a long time.

Why do the ads work? Well, partly because sex sells, and sexual innuendo sells harder. Partly because ECUs of beer elicits a Pavlovian effect. And partly because of their tone of voice. “Probably” doesn’t get used in many product or brand claims, but gosh ‘being fallibly human’ is endearing.

So here’s The world’s most unsafe for work video. Probably.

If you’re old enough to remember the 70s song, Je t’aime?, you’ll notice the reference. Had there been YouTube then, it would have been the decade’s hottest viral, for reasons that are not exactly hiding behind a bushel. There wasn’t, so the version upload in 2011 has only had 3,049,55 views.

And, before we continue exploring the 72andSunny ads, let’s give credit where credit is due and acknowledge Duval Guillaume’s role in the whole new campaign:

The three new spots also bring back, “If Carlsberg did,” after a four year break – the line that grew from Probably the best lager in the world. The very unserious aim is to get viewers to join in some learning exercises…making its audience pay attention to the ads’ sexual underpinning, which after all is what’s going to sell the brand. There’s an idea inserted nonetheless: If Carlsberg was going to do something (make an erotic video, sing karaoke or teach languages) it would make it the best in the world. Probably.

Here’s: The most totally unexpected awesome Karaoke ever. Probably.

And here’s: The only language course with guaranteed instant results. Probably.

Creative credits:

Agency: 72andSunny, Amsterdam
Production Company: MacGuffin Films, New York
Director: Nick Fuglestad
Executive producer: Sam Wool

If Carlsberg did… is also running on TV in the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark. It’s interesting that 72andSunny created a very different ad for this market. It follows the classic beer ad theme, boys will be boys. Does anyone else think that the song, Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing is rather similar to Tap King’s Hello by Lionel Richie?

These are its credits:

Agency: 72andSunny Amsterdam

Executive creative director: Carlo Cavallone

Creative director: Matt Heck

Creative director/lead writer: Lee Hempstock

Production company: Pulse

Director: Martin Kalina

Post-production: MPC Amsterdam