1999 / Video / Viral-ad catchphrase
Whassup?
Friends yelling a single greeting down the phone made a tiny bit of hangout chatter impossible to stop repeating.
The original is hosted off-site; this page provides context and a link to it.
What was this?
The humor was in escalation: each caller repeats the greeting more loudly and absurdly while doing almost nothing at all.
Why it spread
The original entertainment version circulated online before the campaign pushed the phrase through television, parody sites, and everyday conversation.
What happened
The humor was in escalation: each caller repeats the greeting more loudly and absurdly while doing almost nothing at all.
Where it came from
Charles Stone III’s short film True became the basis for Budweiser’s 1999 Whassup? campaign.
Why it mattered
Whassup? is an early example of a brand recognizing that a shareable comic phrase could travel beyond the ad that paid for it.
How it spread
The original entertainment version circulated online before the campaign pushed the phrase through television, parody sites, and everyday conversation.
Keep going
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