BUDWEISER | WASSUP | 2000
A Culture Just Phoning a Friend Can Start / Budweiser "WASSUP"
60 seconds of friends shouting "WHASSUUUP!?" into the phone at each other. When this commercial aired during Monday Night Football in 1999, it somehow turned into a greeting used all over the world.
The problem
At the time, Budweiser had the biggest sales in America, but it was struggling to connect with younger people. Vinny Warren from DDB came across a 3-minute short film called "True" that director Charles Stone III had made with his friends. In it, they just shout "Whassup?" to each other over the phone. The moment Warren saw it, he knew this was the one.
The insight
What Warren bet on was the sheer contagiousness of the phrase itself. Anyone who saw it would instantly start imitating it and shouting it themselves. The ad never talked about the beer's taste or quality—instead, it portrayed beer as something that sits alongside friendship. The goal was an ad that didn't feel like an ad.
The idea
They brought in Stone himself as director and cast his actual friends. It was shot on a tiny, low-budget set above a burrito shop. The commercial first aired in December 1999 (month 12), and the buzz exploded at the Super Bowl in 2000. Parodies flooded the internet, "Whassup" showed up on Saturday Night Live and even on the cover of Forbes, and the phrase spread even to countries where it wasn't translated.
What happened
Sales grew by 15%, and the campaign won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix in 2000. It was inducted into the CLIO Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2020, a pandemic-era version was made, encouraging people to reach out to their friends.
Afterthought
Just a phone call scene, shot at a friend's place, with real friends. And it became a catchphrase around the world. This ad is a reminder that sometimes raw authenticity beats polish.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2000
