 
by Jonathan Parks
I don't know why men enjoy beer commercials so much, but we do. Perhaps it's because these particular promotional vehicles have a bit more, shall we say, moral leeway. This flexibility has been translated into innovation more often than not, and as a result, the gap between the quality beer commercials and lame ones has grown recently. Whatever the reason, we love beer commercials. But we encourage beer makers to continue to put out high quality products. Consequently, we at Guyville.com periodically review the recent crop of beer commercials in hopes of showing the brewers what works and doesn't work. Without any further ado·
The Best - Far and away the best beer ads of this season come from the folks at Budweiser. Hopefully signalling the retirement of the frogs, Bud has come up with a their latest motto, "Budweiser. True." To go along with this logo comes the group of friends who watch TV and hang out and greet each other with the expression, "Whazzzzup?!?!" As the commercials proceed, the greetings get longer and more varied, resulting in a harmonious chorus of "Whazzzup?!?"s. First of all, this is damn funny. Second of all, it's unpretentious. And best of all, it does make me want to watch a football game on TV and chill with a Budweiser. This ad campaign succeeds on all fronts.
The Worst - Well, they are still re-playing the John Elway/Coors campaign. As long as that's on television, that will be the worst of all beer ads (and ads in general, it makes me sick). But, since we've already tackled that, the next worst is the Miller Lite campaign featuring celebrities arguing about why they drink Miller Lite. This was a pretty good campaign when it started, but it has since deteriorated to its present, and lowest, level. And please tell me this: when did America's love affair with Jimmy Kimmel begin? He's funny on Comedy Central, but once he made it onto the Fox pre-game show, he lost it. And his commercials aren't funny. It's time to lay this campaign to rest and go back to the drawing boards.
Enough Already - Hey! Beer Man! Retire your ads! Coors Light may be able to come up with something new from this campaign, but it better do it soon. The beer man ads that are continually re-played now have lost their flavor.
We Want More! - I love that little mouse from Bud Ice. You know, the one where the guy flings him into a woman's apartment so she'll come running to his with her Bud Ice. Maybe if they only used a mouse that would get old, but somehow variations on this idea. The ad was funny, every guy I know likes it, and it's been around for awhile, so it's time for more.
We're Not Convinced - Keystone Light tried hard with its campaign revolved around avoiding bitter beer. But let's face it, we all know Keystone Light is one of the nastiest beers out there, and no amount of ad dollars will change this fact.
Whatever Happened To...? - The Bud Ice penguin who sings Frank Sinatra? I loved that guy!
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