Anheuser-Busch's ad of the idiots laying around saying, "Wassup?" won the Grand Clio award for TV advertising this week. This 60-second commercial which was named True was directed by one of the guys who starred in it (Charles Stone III). It was done under the auspices of an ad agency in Chicago, DDB Worldwide.

Now, I just don't get this. When I saw this ad, I thought it was the stupidest damn thing I'd ever seen. I've seen it several times since, and it just got worse.

The lizards were funny. This is not.

I've known some guys who have gone all the way to the top for some of the biggest ad agencies in America, and I can tell you this firsthand:

These are organizations that will pay you a lot of money, eat your brains right out of your skull, and leave you a wasted shell of a human. And, obviously, they will also sometimes reward you for work so stupid that any other industry would laugh you out of the building.

Loosely translated into "What is happening in your life currently?" A shortening of "What's up?"

Also the only carrying feature of a recent Budweiser advertising campaign, one which nearly prompted me to bury an axe in my television each time it came on. The commercial features a group of friends calling each other and asking "Wazzzaup?" in a loud moaning manner. The answer is something involving "watching the game" and drinking beer. The parroting of the question and its answer reminds me of a conversation between altzheimers patients.

Believe it or not this ad campaign has been wildly successful. The ad actually won the Grand Clio award for TV advertising.

In following a proud tradition of slapping advertising images on every product imaginable and aiming said products at young, dumb males, Budweiser put the men featured in this commercial on t-shirts, lighters, hats, and a plethora of cheap, craptacular merchandise.

Budweiser, the clever bastards that they are, returned to the Superbowl with a take-off on the successful advertising campaign: a group of white-collar friends calling each other and asking, in very un-hip voices, "What is up with you?"

Derivative humor from something not funny to begin with.


A friend of mine recently had the opportunity to visit the "Bud Store" in Orlando, Florida. As you can guess, the Bud Store is a shop devoted to Budweiser merchandise. There was an extensive Wazzzup section. Behind the counter was an elderly gentleman who spent most of their brief visit on the phone discussing the prices of various Wazzzup t-shirts.

Before she left, my friend asked the man "Wazzzzzuuuup?" is her best groaning-idiot voice, adding "You must hear that a lot, huh?".

He looked at her like she was from Mars.

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