Contrary to what you might think, not every commercial for an alcoholic product features guys acting like jerks to each other in order to secure an extra sip of Budweiser. Some are interesting stories told well.

Only half of these have run on American television, though all but two have been produced by American ad agencies. That's partially because we don't have much tolerance for minute-long spots (no matter what the product is) and that's a shame because these are fantastic spots. The interesting thing about commercials for alcohol is that the product differs only in application, not in result. Some people will tell you that they're a different drunk based on what they're drinking, but drunk is drunk, all of these products will get you there, and no one is selling you on how fucked up their product makes you. Instead, they sell mood.

Advertising is a question of identity. We watch a spot and think "am I a [product name here] person" all the time, but it's especially essential when looking at a product like alcohol. There's no use element to keep in the equation - we don't need one product more than any other, we just like one more. And that loyalty is based on taste, but it's also based on the kind of person who buys that brand and whether or not we see ourselves as a member of that group.

Grey Goose "Cocktail Party"
 This spot is precisely about nothing but mood and ambiance and the lives of people who drink Grey Goose. It doesn't exactly sell "drink our vodka and this can be your life" but it does tell you that the you won't enjoy (or aren't equipped to enjoy) Grey Goose unless this is the kind of thing you think is cool and hip. Hammered home by their use of the word "discerning," but offering nothing to back up their claim that Grey Goose is the "world's best tasting vodka," the spot is much more about the people than the product, but avoids annoyance by shooting people in an impressionist style, in quick cuts and close ups.

Smirnoff "Subway"
 Very similar to the Grey Goose spot, this Smirnoff spot features people doing something fun and interesting and tagging the experience with the product. They've also included the "be there" tag in the copy of the spot, which is a nice touch. This campaign has been all over the air since first premiering last summer and, truth be told, the other spots in the campaign aren't as effective, particularly the one where the kids slip-n-slide down the grassy hill. That spot suffers from the same illusion of sexual escapades that plagues most spots for American beer, but this one, by focusing on the group experience and the natural association of alcohol and music works really well.

Jack Daniel's "His Way"
 This spot focuses on something else which is a standard in alcohol commercials: the notion of history. The idea here is that Jack Daniel's is a product steeped in history and triumph. By using little more than the label of the bottle, there's a certain beautiful simplicity at play. The story of the history of Jack Daniel and his process doesn't seem forced as it tracks through the words on the label, nicely not mentioning Daniel's name at all, just letting the graphic do the work. Of course, the true genius here is that we don't need the proper name mentioned at the head of the copy, the bottle providing recognition enough.

Johnnie Walker "Keep Walking"
 This spot more directly takes on the idea of history and permanence by showing us the walking man logo adapted in real life moments of great import. By depicting all of these moments, Johnnie Walker inserts their product into the fabric of human history and great events in that history. The best part of the spot, though, is that there's no voice over telling us about these events, we just know them and the integration of the logo is pretty effective.

Heineken "Unchanged"
 This European Heineken spot uses a similar technique to the "Keep Walking" spot, but with a much more humorous tint. Instead of approaching history from a dramatic standpoint and driving the audience forward through time, this spot takes its hero and drives him back in time, but the message is the same - that the product is unchanged, that it has never needed to change.

Stella Artois "Ice Skating Priests"
 This long-form Stella Artois spot a little more directly addresses the way we need beer in our lives. Told without dialogue or voice over, the spot takes what can be a cliched premise, what we'll do for beer, and makes it into something much more interesting.

Crown Royal "Set"
 In this spot, Crown Royal swaps out the mood and ambiance vibe for a short vignette. There's still lots of mood here, the jazz club is smoky and the use of Cinema Scope is effective. Unlike any of the spots so far, they don't offer a glimpse of their product until the end, when the story's tag ("for every King, an heir") joins with the Crown Royal tag ("for every King, a crown").

Guinness "Surfer"
 This British Guinness ad is one of the greatest of all time, and it uses a very similar technique to the Crown Royal spot; it weaves a story based around the tag. In this case, Guinness had been using "good things come to those who wait" for several years already when this spot was made in 1999. What makes it truly beautiful is the combination of 60's film look - bluish hue, visible grain, with the unbelievable graphics of the horses emerging from the waves, inspired by Walter Crane's 1893 painting Neptune's Horses. The spot is simply incredible.

Dos Equis "The Most Interesting Man in the World"
 Without a doubt, this is the best beer commercial in a long, long time. Like most, it's comedic, but unlike most it's actually funny and clever; "his reputation is expanding faster than the universe" is surely one of the best quips of all time. But the key, of course, is the character of the Most Interesting Man in the World. He's obviously dashing and debonair and has led an amazing life, which could possibly be annoying but isn't here because of the amazing copy.

Jameson "The Lost Barrell"
 An incredible looking spot, this one. The production design is really great and the look and rendering of the giant squid is fantastic. Jameson, like Jack Daniel's, chooses to focus on the man whose name is on the product, but dramatizes his story. It combines a slew of elements from all of these spots - the historical nature, the dramatic story having nothing do with the product itself, the clever voice over.