We’re not sure how we should feel about Heineken’s latest social media initiative, the Heineken BeerFriender Facebook app. Should we feel warmth at the prospect of potential new bromances blossoming between beer lovers everywhere? Should we feel amazed at how the internet once again manages to meet our every need? Should we feel disappointed in the way the internet is once again cheapening human relationships? Or should we feel a little threatened at the prospect of some stranger trying to become beer buddies with us—possibly to the point of psychotic obsession resulting in our untimely death via a weaponized Heineken bottle?
Heineken’s new BeerFriender gimmick is the suds-maker’s way of drumming up sales for its BeerTender at-home draught beer maker. The concept: The BeerTender makes the perfect holiday gift for…you! Except this is the season of giving, and giving to yourself doesn’t count. So what if you found someone who also wanted to receive a BeerTender? You could give that person a BeerTender and have that person give one to you! And what if Heineken made this really easy for you with a Facebook app to match you up with another BeerTender lover?
But again, this raises a few red flags. Do we want to trust Facebook to play Secret Santa Matchmaker between us and beer-swilling strangers? Also, wouldn’t it be easier just to ask a loved one to get us a BeerTender?
We almost wonder if Heineken’s yanking our bottle opener here, being that there’s no such app on their Facebook page—at least not yet (while the video above was posted by Heineken, it’s currently unlisted on YouTube—so maybe we’re getting a sneak preview before the spot officially goes live).
Whatever the case, while the app sounds like a clever idea, the prospect of swapping holiday gifts with drunken strangers who have no loved ones makes us want to switch to eggnog.

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