Click for photo credit--www.drunkentailgate.com
Never mind the fact that it shares a name with a particularly popular Outkast record, and that it comes filled with what some folks might call “Beer,” the Bud Light Speakerbox is ridiculously stupid. I understand that part of Anheuser-Busch’s angle with this and the whole “Tailgate Approved” campaign is that they’re mashing up things that we wouldn’t necessarily expect, but come on.
The photo to the right says it all. Why wouldn’t I just buy the Land Shark right next to it? Oh, that’s right–because MY CAR DOESN’T ALREADY HAVE AN MP3 PLAYER JACK INSTALLED.
I understand their grill/cooler mashup. That seems to me to be a sensible, even if the design is kinda crappy and cheap looking.
This speakerbox business, though, is just plain ol’ stupid. You might was well take the eleven dollars you just paid for the speaker and set it on fire. Or spend eleven dollars on firewood and be sure to breathe in all the smoke real, real deep. Or just pay a dude eleven dollars to punch you in the face a few times–the chances are pretty good that you’ll hear music in your head as a result–and you’ll still get the same amount of beer at the same quality.
In the end, the Bud Light Speakerbox is a way to direct attention towards the box and away from what’s actually important: what’s inside the box. Generally speaking, this is a bad marketing move that I personally can’t believe got greenlit (or is “greenlighted” the correct term? Either way, someone should get fired) because it makes AB/InBev look like they’re not confident with the contents of the Bud Light packaging. Come to think of it, the whole “Tailgate Approved” campaign comes across as a quickly slapped-together run at an already tapped market–football fans.
What makes the campaign look like so many Speakerboxes, though, is the inclusion of Bud Light Golden Wheat as part of the “Tailgate Approved” campaign. Tailgating is for football. Football happens over the Winter. Wheat beer is generally known as a summer beer. GADFUCKINGZOOKS! I’VE GOT IT! LET’S RELEASE OUR WHEAT BEER IN OCTOBER AND PUT IT NEXT TO A CRAPPY MACBOOK SPEAKER! Seriously. The mind reels.
Posted: October 19th, 2009 | Author: maoglone | Filed under: Things That Are Terrible | Tags: Advertising, beer, Bud Light, stupid | 16 Comments »
If Vengeance Be My Destiny is TCM’s Sunday comic. It’s about a violent robot saving the planet via saving a lil’ ol’ baby. You can catch up on the rest of the story here.
Posted: October 18th, 2009 | Author: Chris McNay and Anton Blignaut | Filed under: VBMD | Tags: Comic, If Vengeance Be My Destiny, VBMD, webcomic | No Comments »
Every Saturday, TCM brings you everything that was awesome on the Internet over the previous week. You can find past dumpers here.
First of all, I couldn’t be happier that I (and by, “I,” I mean everyone) was wrong about the Bengals blackout, and for no other reason than it means I’ll get to watch something other than the Wiggles or Baby Einstein on Sunday. Seriously, those are both brain-numbing and they send me into freaking Viking rage.
Posted: October 17th, 2009 | Author: maoglone | Filed under: Saturday Dump Festival | Tags: The Least Uninteresting Things on the Internet This Week | No Comments »
I don’t have a particularly good excuse for the fact that it took me so long to finally dig in to Christian Moerlein’s Oktoberfest selection. When they first tapped this year’s batch, I was all excited and couldn’t wait–well, apparently I could, so never mind.
At any rate, I finally picked up a sixer of the stuff at Cork & Bottle and tried it during last week’s Bengals win against the Ravens. Couldn’t have picked a better day for it, I guess.
On to the beer.
Fifth and Vine Oktoberfest has a strong, almost deceptive nose; like others of the style, there’s a definite fruit-based scent to the beer, and the malts are defintely present. I expected a strong, almost too-strong beer.
I’ve tried a couple of Oktoberfests in the past, so I sort of knew what to expect: a malty, flavorful, sweet-ish beer. The others that I’ve had have a defined fruity sweetness to them, so much so that they’re almost syrupy in terms of the way that that sweetness interacts with the beer’s hops–as if the two are separate. This is not the case with Moerlein’s Fifth and Vine, which presents a significantly drier, more well-balanced take on the Oktoberfest Marzen beer.
This isn’t to say that Fifth and Vine isn’t sweet, or that there’s no finish to speak of–the beer does have significant sweet overtones and a finish that’s indicative of the Oktoberfest style–it’s just not as pronounced as some of the others that are out there. This is a good thing for Christian Moerlein, and it’s probably a purposeful move–seems to me that this beer is directed a little more at the general population as opposed to those on the margins of beer drinking who might be looking for a beer to challenge them. Fifth and Vine Oktoberfest challenges me in no way whatsoever, and I can’t possibly express in words how happy that makes me.
Because, you know, I just want to relax with a beer or six.
Overall, Christian Moerlein Fifth & Vine Oktoberfest is among my personal favorites of the Oktoberfest style. This is admittedly partially because it’s a Cincinnati beer, but it’s perhaps moreso a favorite of mine because it’s a fairly dry, accessible take on the style. In short, it’s perfect for the Oktoberfest beginner (like me) who’s trying to get a bead on just what an Oktoberfest should be like as opposed to just wildly stretching one’s horizons willy nilly. On the “Crap to Superb” scale, Fifth & Vine scores a “Yes, Please.”
Posted: October 16th, 2009 | Author: maoglone | Filed under: Tools for the Weekend | Tags: Beer Review, Christian Moerlein Fifth & Vine Oktoberfest | No Comments »
With thanks at least in part to Who Dey Revolution and last year’s 4-11-1 record, it’s shaping up like the Bengals-Texans tilt is going to be blacked out. It’s been quite some time since the WhoDeys have been blacked out, and it’s kind of difficult (for me, anyhow) to remember what people used to do when their game of choice wasn’t on television. To be sure, the last time a Bengals game wasn’t televised, people didn’t want to watch them anyway. This year, things are a little different.
So what to do when the game’s not on? Of course, it’ll be on the radio (700WLW, 1530 Homer and WEBN, for those keeping track), but essentially, your Sunday’s looking to be a little more open than you thought it otherwise might be. Here’s a quick list of stuff to do on an October Sunday:
- All that housework hanging over your head. The plus here is that you can at least get some things done while listening to the game on the radio. I have to buy and hang an interior door, for example. Fun? Not even close. But that shit’s been mocking me for months now, and it’s looking like Sunday’s the day.
- Drive to Louisville or Columbus and watch the game there. Those will be the closest places to carry the game on television, and it’ll probably have to be a place with NFL Ticket. If you absolutely need to watch, be sure to drive safely and leave early enough to not miss kickoff.
- Take your family out for lunch. There are iphone/mobile apps that let you keep watch of the score, and lots of restaurants run football games so you’ll be able to watch the score tickers on the bottom of the screen. Your family will think you’re a dick for paying more attention to the scores than them on Sunday, but you’re used to that sentiment anyway.
- Go for a long Sunday drive on the 275 loop. This is probably the most expensive way to fill the day, but you’ll get to listen to the game uninterrupted and maybe clear your mind a little bit.
- Watch other football games. I heard that the game that’d be on instead of the Bengals will be Baltimore vs. Minnesota. Not a bad replacement.
What are you planning to do instead of watching the game if it turns out to be blacked out?
Posted: October 15th, 2009 | Author: maoglone | Filed under: Sports | Tags: bengals, blackout, football, nfl, NFL blackout | 4 Comments »
