Business & Tech
Dos Equis Replaces ‘Most Interesting Man’ at O’Brien’s; Facebook Claim by O’Toole’s Is Discounted
A new "Most Interesting Man in the World"is on display at O'Brien's Irish Pub in Brandon, but it's not the one that's been "kidnapped." Nor is the pilfered display at O'Toole's, says O'Brien's co-owner Sean Rice.
Dos Equis has stepped in to replace a promotional display for the "Most Interesting Man in the World" that was "kidnapped" from in Brandon.
The original display is still on the lamb.
"Dos Equis read about it and they came by today and dropped off a new display,” Sean Rice, the pub’s co-owner, said April 21. The supposed heist of the poster and life-size cutout of the Dos Equis pitchman was captured April 13 on at around 1:30 a.m.
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Meanwhile, a competing Irish bar, O'Tooles Irish Pub & Restaurant, 1215 West Brandon Blvd., is having its own fun with the incident.
The pub’s Facebook page sports a posting of the establishment’s own representation of the Dos Equis pitchman, suggesting it was the pilfered display from O’Brien’s.
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But Rice isn’t buying it.
“It’s not him,” said Rice, with a laugh. “It doesn’t look like him at all."
According to a surveillance videotape, two men and a woman removed the O’Brien’s display just two days after it was delivered to the popular Irish pub on Lumsden Road.
Rice, who said he believes the heist is a prank, posted the videotape of what he calls “the kidnapping” on the pub’s Facebook page, noting that if the thieves had wanted the display, “all they had to do was ask.”
Since the April 13 heist, talk about sightings of the most interesting man cutout have been posted in earnest on O’Brien’s Facebook page, with sightings reported in New York, Tampa and Apollo Beach.
One comment had the pitchman at a Tampa Bay Lightning game.
Rice continues to offer a bucket of Dos Equis should the original display be returned to its pride of place inside the pub and beside the music stage.
There, it was part of a Dos Equis promotion leading up to Cinco de Mayo, which will feature O’Brien’s own “most interesting man” and “most interesting woman” contests.
The Most Interesting Man in the World has a cult following online with several Websites devoted to the graying philosopher. Dos Equis even has its own Most Interesting Man Academy. The actor behind the role, Jonathan Goldsmith, has been profiled several times.
