There's no doubt that the Star Wars franchise has transformed itself from a science-fiction epic to a cultural phenomenon worldwide.
That said, the original Chilean broadcast of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi is gaining renewed interest from fans thanks to its bizarre product placement style.
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Star Wars: Chilean Broadcast of Original Trilogy Spawns Hilarious Movement Thanks to Bizarre Beer Commercials
On X, several scenes from the original trilogy went viral due to the clips containing beer commercials stitched into the movies. While one would initially think that it's a fanmade edit created to generate laughs, it turns out that the ads are real, and at one point, it gave Lucasfilm's legal team a Death Star-sized headache.
The ad in question is from a local beer brand called Cerveza Cristal and originally aired in 2003 during Channel 13's broadcast. Instead of them being shown during regular ad breaks, the product was oddly placed during pivotal scenes of the trilogy as if they were part of the narrative.
As bizarre as it was, the campaign was lauded for its cleverness. In a 2004 report by The Guardian, the outlet said that OMD Santiago, Cerveza Cristal's agency bagged the top award in the media category at that year's Cannes International Advertising Festival for "managing to persuade Chile's broadcasters to allow Cristal Beer to be placed in scenes within a series of major movies. During Star Wars for example, Luke Skywalker was seen to produce a can of Cristal when he reached for his lightsaber - an idea that would break the rules on product placement in the UK."
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Understandably, creator George Lucas wasn't thrilled with the brand's campaign and the production company's lawyers argued that it disobeyed the Chilean Code of Advertising Ethics, leading viewers to believe that Lucasfilm and the beer company had a partnership.
Meanwhile, all of your Star Wars favorites are available to stream on Disney+.