Open Bottle of Beer

Following the breakthrough success of Heineken's "Real Friends" and "Group Chat Bar" campaigns this year, the brand is out with "Open Bottle of Beer," which playfully responds to the current wave of consumer robotics and AI companionship products. The message is simple: When it comes to life's simple pleasures, like opening a cold beer, real friends beat artificial alternatives every time.
The brief film, shared across Heineken’s social media channels and created by Le Pub New York, captures a humanoid robot failing to open a bottle of Heineken before a human hand enters the frame to effortlessly complete the task. The video ends with the line: "The best way to enjoy a beer is still with a real friend."
Shot in under two days, the work is a natural extension of Heineken's “Social Networking Since 1873.” platform – the brand's multi-year initiative championing real-life connection over digital substitutes.

The work launched on November 17, 2025, across social and digital channels. It was conceived, shot, and fully edited in under one week to capitalize on current cultural conversation around consumer robotics, AI companionship, and the limitations of technology in replicating genuine human connection.

Jim Curtis, Chief Creative Officer at LePub New York, says: "The conversation around AI companionship and humanoid robots is everywhere. And while a dystopian future under the rule of robot overlords seems imminent, right now even basic kitchen tasks appear to have the robots struggling. This felt like the perfect moment to once again remind people that some things – like having a beer – are still best done the old-fashioned way: with a real friend.”

Heineken's #SocialOffSocials initiative champions the brand's commitment to bringing people together through real-life experiences rather than digital interactions. The platform was born from research commissioned by Heineken among 17,000 adults across the U.S., U.K., and other markets that revealed striking insights about modern social behavior: the average person now spends nearly six hours daily on their device, and 62% of Gen Z say they feel socially drained by digital engagement.
Different data sources consistently show that social life is at risk across all demographics. Consumers around the world have not been prioritizing face-to-face social connection, and all generations now spend fewer hours socializing in person than they did ten years ago. As Heineken notes, this "real life > screen life" message has been a brand focus for the past four years, and its relevance with consumers continues to grow.
The #SocialOffSocials platform has produced multiple successful executions in 2025, with "Make a Real Friend" being the latest to respond to the AI companionship and consumer robotics trend with humor and humanity.
The platform resonates because it addresses a genuine consumer tension: technology promises connection but often leaves people feeling more isolated. Heineken positions itself as the antidote – the brand that facilitates genuine, memorable moments of real human connection.