The force is strong with this one.
An obscure early 2000s ad campaign for South American beer brand Cerveza Cristal is currently the internet's newest obsession, spawning a number of hilarious memes.
Prompted by some hokey product placement edited into the original Star Wars trilogy, the viral trend (and infectious jingle) has extended to other blockbusters, from Dune to Lord of the Rings.
So, if you were wondering why Cerveza Cristal is dominating your social feeds, we're here with everything you need to know.
What is the Cerveza Cristal meme?
The story begins a long time ago — well, 2003 — in a galaxy far, far away (re: South America). When the original Star Wars trilogy first aired on Chilean TV in December 2003 without traditional commercial breaks.
Instead, product placement was awkwardly edited into key scenes of the films to advertise Cerveza Cristal.
The result? Iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Emperor Palpatine reaching for a cold one to amusing effect.
The footage resurfaced thanks to X user @heyitswindy, who shared an English dub of one such Cerveza-edited scene.
They went on to share other edits, featuring scenes from 1980's Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return Of The Jedi — all with the addictive, absurd Cerveza Cristal jingle ringing out.
Wait, is this real!?
In our current AI age, many commentators understandably thought that this was all fake. But nope, it's legit.
For starters, there's documentation of Star Wars fans chatting about the 'Cerveza Cristal' edit on forums back in 2004. Plus, footage was shared on YouTube as far back as 2009.
The campaign — known as La Fuerza está con Cerveza Cristal (translating to The Force is with Cerveza Cristal) — even scooped the top award at the 2004 Cannes International Advertising Festival, recognising the "genius" of its creators, ad agency OMD Santiago.
According to video game and pop culture site Vida Extra, the success led to alcohol empire CCU (Compañía de las Cervecerías Unidas) to use the same move in broadcasts of 1999 Oscar Best Picture winner American Beauty, Julia Roberts romcom Notting Hill, and 2000 swords-and-sandals blockbuster Gladiator. (We NEED that footage!)
However, creator George Lucas was not happy about the edits, and Lucasfilm's lawyers successfully lodged legal action, arguing it misled viewers into believing there was an official link between Cerveza Cristal and Star Wars.
As a result, the TV edit was never broadcast again and largely lost to time. But as with many pop culture obscurities, the internet never forgets.
A meme is born (and here's our favourites)
On social media, crafty editors latched onto the bizarre beer-ification of movie blockbusters, beginning with inserting Cerveza Cristal into the Star Wars prequels and J.J Abrams-helmed sequel trilogy.
The next logical step was bringing the idea into other sci-fi and fantasy franchises, including the ever-popular Lord Of The Rings cinematic trilogy and the current appetite for Denis Villeneuve's Dune.
Why stop there? Within a week of the Star Wars edits surfacing, we now have cerveza showing up in Back The Future, Alien, Ghostbusters, Iron Man, Se7en — you name it.
Some have even gone above and beyond, creating universe-accurate models of the longneck bottle that seamlessly merge into The Lego Movie and videogame franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear Solid.
'Tis the gift that keeps on giving. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go slake this strangely urgent thirst I've suddenly developed.
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2024-03-08 02:57:13Z
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