Want Vodka? Ask Bruce Willis

We keep watching him in the movies, making him the seventh highest-grossing actor in a leading role, ninth highest if you include supporting roles, whose films have grossed about $3 billion in North America.

His latest, perhaps tougher, role: plugging Sobieski vodka, as the Polish brand’s celebrity spokesman and, now, part owner. Appearing in its new English-language campaign with Sobieski’s CEO, Krzysztof Trylinski, Willis readily admits “What the heck does Bruce Willis know about making vodka? Nothing.” 

Sobieski is the top seller in Poland and has been available in the U.S. for three years, but with minimal brand awareness.

Cue the seven “Bruce Has Ideas” spots, which leverage his trademark smirk and self-deprecating humor, featuring zingers such as, “No, I’m not just an action hero with rugged good looks and some singing ambitions.”

The commercials are from Meter Industries and riff on the brand's value compared to other premium brands: “Overspending on vodka? That’s so 2008.” The print, online and billboard ads are all black and white with a splash of red – and the vodka bottle itself takes center stage.

Marty Weiss, CEO and creative director, Meter Industries, tells the New York Times, “we’re trying to get people to focus on quality. We wanted everything to feel premium, but simple. So we were looking for someone iconoclastic, the real deal.”

In return for his participation Willis received a 3.3% stake in Belvedere, Sobieski’s parent company, worth an estimated $4 million. That may explain why, though he's not dying hard these days, the aging actor is certainly trying hard.