Beer company BRLO is trying to popularize their non-alcoholic lager by creating a parody of the steamy ad and playing off White’s now iconic role on The Bear by casting a bear to play a version of him in the hopes of catering to gay men.
In the original Calvin Klein commercial, White is seen running up a set of stairs to a rooftop, stripping off layers of clothing as he goes until he’s down to a pair of boxer briefs and sneakers. Then he starts working out, and our brains short-circuited.
In case you were living under a rock and somehow missed it:
The beer ad is nearly identical, except it features burly out gay actor Gerrard Woodward in a pair of briefs. The German beer maker also pushed the envelope a little further, ending their ad with Woodward jumping onto a couch in the buff, with pixels covering his NSFW bits, whereas the original ad shows off White's bulge fully encased in underwear
“Full-bodied, juicy and without the headache the morning after, it’s the perfect choice – not just in Dry January,” BRLO wrote on social media.
BRLO also took a series of black and white photographs of Woodward in his tighty whities, mimicking some of the Calvin Klein pictures taken of White.
“I was in love with the idea right from the beginning,” Woodward told Into More. “I saw the comedy of it right away and knew they were onto something. Everyone came with such great intentions. I’d already worked recently with Charley Stadler the Director, and the creative Reza Ramezani Chief Creative Officer at Deloitte Central Europe, came into it with the best vibes, which made me feel excited for it!”
So now, whether you’re hot for a hard body or a cuddly bear, you’re covered!
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
