Super Bowl Ads: A Look Back at the “WASSUPPP!” Campaign

With Super Bowl XLV right around the corner, I decided to take a look back at one of my favorite ads…

WASSSSUPPPPP!? Why “WUSSUP”? Why did Budweiser beer not show up once through this ad? And why is this all acceptable in the advertising world? Well, the answer is simple; Reputation. The Budweiser campaign is designed to maintain popular awareness – to make sure that when a thirsty beer drinker has a choice of beers he will always say, “I’ll have a Bud.”

A product like Budweiser beer has a long-held reputation for being a good beer. Budweiser is the beer that my grandfather drank. Their commercials never make sense or relate to their product, but they are humorous and therefore, they are well remembered. Over ten years ago, you may remember the start of the “WUSSUP!” Budweiser “campaign”. Budweiser began throwing the scream of “WUSSUP!” throughout all of their commercials, and soon enough, people could relate this shout out to the beer itself. A commercial like the “alien-dog” doesn’t need to sell the actual beer. The “WUSSUP” slogan speaks for itself. The slogan is meant to reinforce the “When you want a beer, you want a Bud” conditioning of the beer-drinking public. Budweiser is such an established brand and has such known animal mascots that their commercials can skip the “hard sell” and go right for the entertainment.