You've probably seen these weird memes on X with Obi-Wan, Kylo Ren, or even Frodo holding a nice cold bottle of beer. If you have no clue what it all means, we're here to explain.
Cerveza Cristal product placement in "Star Wars"
In the early 2000s, a Chilean television company put its beer ad directly into several scenes of "Star Wars", which was broadcasted back then, spicing it up with a funny tune. But 20 years later, X-formerly-Twitter users brought it back to life.
The Guardian reported in 2004 that Cristal Beer's agency, OMD Santiago, received an award at that year's Cannes International Advertising Festival for this campaign. George Lucas, however, successfully had the altered versions removed from the air through legal action.
The meme's revival appeared on X, with user @heyitswindy posting the English dub of a scene edited with Cerveza Cristal advertisements.
Around 2003 in Chile, when the original trilogy of Star Wars began airing on television there, they did this funny thing to avoid cutting to commercial breaks. They stitched the commercials into the films themselves. Here is one of them, with the English dub added in. pic.twitter.com/wC7N2vPNvv
— Windy 🛸 (@heyitswindy) March 2, 2024
"Around 2003 in Chile, when the original trilogy of Star Wars began airing on television there, they did this funny thing to avoid cutting to commercial breaks. They stitched the commercials into the films themselves. Here is one of them, with the English dub added in," the user shares on X.
This scene shows how Obi-Wan introduces Luke to his father’s lightsaber, but it's edited to show Obi-Wan reaching for a cold bottle of beer instead of the weapon, with the phrase "Cerveza Cristal" echoing through the scene.
Hold my beer: Characters of other movies now hold Cerveza Cristal too
The Chilean version of "Star Wars" went viral on social media and sparked a new wave of memes. Users now add the Cerveza Cristal beer advertisement to "Dune," "Iron Man," "Indiana Jones," and other movies as well as games.
cerveza cristal pic.twitter.com/k90TsBmoWu
— free larry 🦅 (@kennetzio) March 5, 2024
POV: you're a player from Chile and you unlock a new axolittle 🍺#cervezacristal pic.twitter.com/6c9ltqbFFt
— AK-xolotl (@akxolotl_game) March 6, 2024
It seems like the beer no longer exists, so its manufacturers will unlikely profit off the virality.