Heineken Teams Up with Football Star Gareth Bale for New Ad

Heineken's latest ad is showing its viewers why they should not bale on their mates — chances are, they might run into the football legend Gareth Bale. 

In the 20-second spot "Don't 'Bale' on Your Mates," one man calls up his friends to go out for drinks. However, his friends bale on their plans and come up with excuses not to go.

One friend said he was "driving" as he held onto his golf club, another told his mate that he had "a lot on his plate," as he stared at the plate of pizza sitting in front of him, while the third one said she was "working remotely," as she held onto her TV remote.

Over at the bar, the friend who had called all his mates was pleasantly surprised to know neither of them was Gareth Bale.

To the shock of everyone in the bar, the football legend himself was revealed to be there all along, questioning the friend for using his name as a term.

As a moment of silence ensues, the Real Madrid alum humorously explains that he was just joking, as the mates cheer to an ice-cold bottle of Heineken 0.0.

"No need to 'Bale' this January," the screen reads, as the spot concludes.

Through the spot created by Publicis Poke, the renowned beer brand aims to promote its non-alcoholic beer Heineken 0.0, acknowledging the common New Year's resolution to remain sober.

Heineken U.K. brand director Stephanie Dexter explained that the category "has always been about less, but we wanted to show with this campaign that Heineken 0.0 enables you to do more of what you love, like socialize with friends down at the pub."

Meanwhile, Publicis Poke creative director Chris Bruney shared that Heineken's campaign aims to "break the cycle. Even with the zero-alcohol category rising in popularity, there's still a stigma to cutting back on drinking that causes people to make excuses to avoid being around alcohol.”