Budweiser Frogs
Encyclopedia
The Budweiser Frogs are three life-like puppet
frog
s named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", who began appearing in American
television
commercials for Budweiser
beer
during Super Bowl XXIX
in 1995. They are part of one of the most well-known international alcohol advertising
campaigns. They were created by David Swaine, Michael Smith and Mark Choate of DMB&B/St. Louis. The commercial was directed by Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean
trilogy.
at nighttime, and a close-up of Bud rhythm
ically croaking his name. Later Weis and Er join in. They croak rather randomly for about ten seconds, until Bud, Weis, and Er begin croaking in sequence, thus forming the Budweiser name. Their croaking becomes quicker as the camera pulls back to show a bar with a large neon
Budweiser sign glowing in the night. The commercial is often listed among the best Super Bowl
advertisements in history, ranking at #5 at MSNBC
's list in 2004.
, a new campaign created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners introduced two wisecracking chameleon
s made their debut. Louie, notable for his distinct Brooklyn
accent, was irritated by the frogs' incessant croaking, and jealous of their success, while Frankie, who speaks in a low baritone voice, was his more rational, even-tempered friend. Frankie apparently socialized with the frogs and was puzzled by Louie's animosity towards them.
As the series' storyline progressed, it documented Louie's enlisting the assistance of an inept ferret
hit man, who tries to kill the frogs by dismantling and dropping the Budweiser neon sign into the swamp water, thus electrocuting
them. Although this assassination attempt failed, it resulted in Weis developing post-electroshock muscular irregularity. Louie briefly replaced Weis in the Bud-Weis-Er cheer, but ended up getting all of them fired, due to Louie's inability to just follow the script. The other frogs in return gave him a literal tongue lashing and revealed to Louie that they could speak with a complete vocabulary and that they knew all along about his plot against them. These three frogs then began a new lifestyle as flashy tap-dancing and Fred Astaire mimicking acts on Broadway.
The Budweiser Lizards later displaced the frogs entirely and continued appearing in television and radio advertisements into the early 2000s. In March 1999 Budweiser released a CD, "Frank & Louie's Greatest Hits," featuring songs such as Sweet Home Alabama, My Sharona
, and Rock This Town
woven around alternate takes of some of Frank and Louie's radio ads.
controversy around the time of the frogs popularity, a 1996 study showed that children often recognized the Budweiser frogs as much as other ad icons like Ronald McDonald
and Tony the Tiger
, as well as other cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny
. Many have speculated that Budweiser's frogs were targeting younger people to their alcoholic products. Anheuser-Busch denies this however, but because of such findings Budweiser eventually slowed down the ad campaign in the years ahead, and by 1998 the campaign stopped and were replaced by the lizards which appealed to more older audiences than the frogs.
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", who began appearing in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
commercials for Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
during Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1994 regular season...
in 1995. They are part of one of the most well-known international alcohol advertising
Alcohol advertising
Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with tobacco advertising, it is one of the most highly-regulated forms of marketing...
campaigns. They were created by David Swaine, Michael Smith and Mark Choate of DMB&B/St. Louis. The commercial was directed by Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)
Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy-adventure films directed by Gore Verbinski and Rob Marshall , written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
trilogy.
Bud, Weis, and Er
The commercial began with a scene of a swampSwamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
at nighttime, and a close-up of Bud rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ically croaking his name. Later Weis and Er join in. They croak rather randomly for about ten seconds, until Bud, Weis, and Er begin croaking in sequence, thus forming the Budweiser name. Their croaking becomes quicker as the camera pulls back to show a bar with a large neon
Neon
Neon is the chemical element that has the symbol Ne and an atomic number of 10. Although a very common element in the universe, it is rare on Earth. A colorless, inert noble gas under standard conditions, neon gives a distinct reddish-orange glow when used in either low-voltage neon glow lamps or...
Budweiser sign glowing in the night. The commercial is often listed among the best Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
advertisements in history, ranking at #5 at MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's list in 2004.
Louie, Frankie, and the Ferret
After the initial ads generated great interest, new creatures began making appearances in the swamp. Beginning at Super Bowl XXXIISuper Bowl XXXII
Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played on January 25, 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1997 regular season...
, a new campaign created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners introduced two wisecracking chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
s made their debut. Louie, notable for his distinct Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
accent, was irritated by the frogs' incessant croaking, and jealous of their success, while Frankie, who speaks in a low baritone voice, was his more rational, even-tempered friend. Frankie apparently socialized with the frogs and was puzzled by Louie's animosity towards them.
As the series' storyline progressed, it documented Louie's enlisting the assistance of an inept ferret
Ferret
The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
hit man, who tries to kill the frogs by dismantling and dropping the Budweiser neon sign into the swamp water, thus electrocuting
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
them. Although this assassination attempt failed, it resulted in Weis developing post-electroshock muscular irregularity. Louie briefly replaced Weis in the Bud-Weis-Er cheer, but ended up getting all of them fired, due to Louie's inability to just follow the script. The other frogs in return gave him a literal tongue lashing and revealed to Louie that they could speak with a complete vocabulary and that they knew all along about his plot against them. These three frogs then began a new lifestyle as flashy tap-dancing and Fred Astaire mimicking acts on Broadway.
The Budweiser Lizards later displaced the frogs entirely and continued appearing in television and radio advertisements into the early 2000s. In March 1999 Budweiser released a CD, "Frank & Louie's Greatest Hits," featuring songs such as Sweet Home Alabama, My Sharona
My Sharona
"My Sharona" is the debut single by The Knack, released in 1979 from their album Get the Knack. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart where it remained for six weeks and was #1 on Billboards Top Pop Singles of 1979 year-end chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry...
, and Rock This Town
Rock This Town
"Rock This Town" is a song by the Stray Cats from their UK debut album Stray Cats. Its first U.S. release was on the 1982 album Built for Speed. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982, becoming the first of the band's three top ten hits in the U.S...
woven around alternate takes of some of Frank and Louie's radio ads.
Controversy
Much like the Joe CamelJoe Camel
Joe Camel was the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987 to July 12, 1997, appearing in magazine advertisements, billboards, and other print media.-History:The U.S. marketing team of R. J...
controversy around the time of the frogs popularity, a 1996 study showed that children often recognized the Budweiser frogs as much as other ad icons like Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In television commercials, the clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland, and has adventures with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and...
and Tony the Tiger
Tony the Tiger
Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. More recently, Tony has also become the mascot for Tony's Cinnamon Krunchers and Tiger Power...
, as well as other cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
. Many have speculated that Budweiser's frogs were targeting younger people to their alcoholic products. Anheuser-Busch denies this however, but because of such findings Budweiser eventually slowed down the ad campaign in the years ahead, and by 1998 the campaign stopped and were replaced by the lizards which appealed to more older audiences than the frogs.