Damned with Faint Praise
I just saw a commercial for Bud Light that ended with their slogan “The difference is drinkability”, but is that really something to brag about when you’re selling a beverage? That’s like McDonalds bragging that their hamburgers don’t cause spontaneous vomiting. When I hear a beer described as “drinkable”, I can’t help but wonder why they don’t use a more enticing word like “delicious” (of course, in the case of Bush Light, it’s because that would be false advertising).
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I thought beer was pretty much sold on “there are hotter chicks in our commercials.”
Comment by David Grenier — November 15, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
Personally, I’d be glad to give a thorough pounding to anybody who uses the word “delicious” in a commercial. Very seldom does a food merit “delicious,” and that goes for most of the food I really like. But seriously? Crackers are not delicious. Soup, often good, rarely delicious. In general, if it’s advertised on TV, it doesn’t qualify.
And as far as beer goes, I’m convinced that nobody really thinks it tastes good anyway. If they did, wouldn’t there be beer flavored ice cream and beer candy? If you got your all-important buzz, what do you have to complain about?
“Delicious” is a word lazy ad writers use when they’re stuck for copy and late for cocktails.
Comment by Mark — November 15, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
[...] on the outside, tender on the inside I left a comment over at The Talent Show Personally, I’d be glad to give a thorough pounding to anybody who uses the word [...]
Pingback by Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside « Sting of Reason — November 15, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
I like the little Freudian slip in the parenthetical phrase there. Is this how your computer has learned to auto-complete the letters “Bu”?
FWIW, Busch Light is even worse than Bud Light.
Comment by Andy — November 18, 2008 @ 8:04 am
Busch Light is totally one of the few beers that can claim that mantle. I guess my thing is, if you’re gonna drink a semi-crappy American beer, at least find something out of the ordinary. Like Pig’s Eye, or any of the awesome old brands that Pabst bought up in the Midwest — Old Style, Schlitz, and such.
Or, y’know. A better beer in general is also an option.
Comment by brian — November 18, 2008 @ 8:20 am
I’ve had PBR, Schlitz, Schmidt, Hamms (from the land of skyblue waters!), Pig’s Eye, Bud Light, Rheingold, Scheaffer and many other crappy US beers. Conclusion: they taste poor to awful, there’s a bad aftertaste about halfway into the second bottle, and a bonghit would have been a lot better to start with. But there are no hash bars in America. I do like some of the dark, malty and hoppy microbrews. One could almost say they are delicious (in the way smelly cheeses are).
Comment by gerard — November 18, 2008 @ 6:15 pm
I saw this commercial the other day too and had the same thought. “Drinkable” seems to me to connote that a product is just tolerable enough to drink. Either that or it’s a retardedly self-evident statement considering that all drinks are “drinkable” by necessity.
Thanks Bud Light for alerting me that you can be physically imbibed. Now if only a food brand would tout their “edibleness,” then I could avoid starving to death!
Comment by Tessa — November 20, 2008 @ 11:31 am
Glade Plug-Ins – They have an ODOR!
Comment by prodigalsonnybono — November 20, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
Mark, beer IS delicious, and they DO have beer-flavored ice cream, e.g. at Scoops in L.A.
Comment by orangehairboy — November 20, 2008 @ 6:47 pm