Dude. Dude! …Dude.

budlight-dude.jpg

Californians get a lot of crap for gratuitous use of “dude.” But “dude,” like “snow” for Eskimos, is actually really expressive. (Also, when you’re frustrated and all sputtery, it feels so much better to go, “…dude” than “FUCKFUCKFUCK!”)

Don’t believe me? Ask Bud Light. Once convinced, bear thyself hence and answer the call of dude.

The Dude Madness website — linked above — lets you make a “DUDE” call, which is when your friend picks up the phone and hears “DUUUDE,” then gets a text that reveals its meaning. But trust me. If you do the “dude” right, they won’t need the text.

The dudes responsible: AtmosphereBBDO and DDB Chicago for the TV spots. The ad: great for “dude” in all its glory, but I’ll probably forget it was for Bud Light when I use this story for bar fodder.

Picture of Steve Hall

Steve Hall

RECENT ARTICLES

TRENDING AROUND THE WEB

I’m 37 and I’ve read 127 self-improvement books in the last six years and the only thing that actually changed my life was the moment I realized I was trying to fix a version of myself that other people were disappointed in, not the person I actually am

I’m 37 and I’ve read 127 self-improvement books in the last six years and the only thing that actually changed my life was the moment I realized I was trying to fix a version of myself that other people were disappointed in, not the person I actually am

Global English Editing

Psychology says the people who obsessively pack and repack their bags the night before a trip aren’t anxious — they’re processing something much older than travel

Psychology says the people who obsessively pack and repack their bags the night before a trip aren’t anxious — they’re processing something much older than travel

Global English Editing

Nobody tells you that pain doesn’t just change what you feel. It changes what you notice. After real loss, you start seeing grief in strangers’ faces at the grocery store, hearing exhaustion in your friend’s laugh, catching the micro-hesitation before someone says ‘I’m fine.’ Pain gave you a fluency you never asked for and can never unlearn

Nobody tells you that pain doesn’t just change what you feel. It changes what you notice. After real loss, you start seeing grief in strangers’ faces at the grocery store, hearing exhaustion in your friend’s laugh, catching the micro-hesitation before someone says ‘I’m fine.’ Pain gave you a fluency you never asked for and can never unlearn

Global English Editing

Most people don’t realize that the ache of loneliness isn’t actually about being alone – neuroscientists say it’s the brain’s alarm system detecting that you’re cut off from the kind of reciprocal attention humans need to regulate their nervous system

Most people don’t realize that the ache of loneliness isn’t actually about being alone – neuroscientists say it’s the brain’s alarm system detecting that you’re cut off from the kind of reciprocal attention humans need to regulate their nervous system

Global English Editing

I retired at 62 with plenty of money and a beautiful home, but I kept decorating it for guests who never came — until I realized I had built an entire life designed to impress people who weren’t actually paying attention

I retired at 62 with plenty of money and a beautiful home, but I kept decorating it for guests who never came — until I realized I had built an entire life designed to impress people who weren’t actually paying attention

Global English Editing

Psychology says people with genuinely strong self-worth don’t constantly affirm themselves — they operate through quiet patterns that most people mistake for aloofness or indifference

Psychology says people with genuinely strong self-worth don’t constantly affirm themselves — they operate through quiet patterns that most people mistake for aloofness or indifference

Global English Editing