Dos Equis dumps ‘the Most Interesting Man in the World’

Even “the Most Interesting Man in the World” is not immune to getting dumped.

Mexican beer brand Dos Equis is letting go of its gray-haired spokesman, 77-year-old Jonathan Goldsmith, and replacing him with another actor.

Goldsmith has been appearing in Dos Equis commercials as “the Most Interesting Man in the World” for about nine years. He usually is seen sitting at a table with a group of women before uttering the beer’s slogan, “Stay thirsty, my friends.”

Dos Equis is making the change to attract new drinkers, said Andrew Katz, the brand’s vice president of marketing. The company, owned by Amsterdam-based Heineken, said sales of the brand have nearly tripled since the ads began airing in 2007.

A new “Most Interesting Man in the World” will appear in commercials later this year. A replacement has been chosen, but Katz declined to say who it is.

Goldsmith is not crying in his beer over the change, though.

“I feel terrific, I really do,” Goldsmith said. “I’ve had a great time in the last 10 years.”

He said fans of the ads approach him all the time.

“It’s overwhelming recognition,” Goldsmith said. “I would be literally mobbed.”

In his last Dos Equis commercial, Goldsmith’s character is shipped off in a rocket on a one-way trip to Mars. He says, “Stay thirsty, my friends” for the last time as the rocket takes off.

Some brands have had a hard time getting rid of beloved pitchmen. Four years ago, travel website Priceline.com tried to kill off the Negotiator, played by actor William Shatner, in a fiery bus crash during a TV spot. But Shatner returned to the role just months later.

Katz said Goldsmith’s space odyssey is more permanent. “It’s a one-way mission.”

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