In a media environment that is dominated by anti-American values, this has become rarer than ever. Such is why the Bud Light “Dilly Dilly” commercials are quite the welcome alternative to most modern advertising campaigns.
In 2016, after eight years of President Barack Obama’s collectivist vision and policies, American voters went in a decidedly different direction. Donald Trump, a businessman with no political experience, ran on a populist platform, and defeated the status-quo candidate. Hillary Clinton was the embodiment of the elitist attitude Americans rejected when they cast their ballot for Donald Trump. Coastal elites, academics, and much of the media were shocked at this turn of events. As The Heartland Institute’s policy advisor Jeffery Tucker explains, Bud Light has brilliantly captured the current populist ethos in America in a light (no pun intended) and amusing manner. The commercial
opens with a “Games of Thrones” scene from some vague European past, though the stained glass in the throne room suggests perhaps 15th century. There is a ruling family sitting at the head table, a man in charge and his queen and a servant of the crown. The music in the background is some tooling-around wood recorders we vaguely associate with throne rooms from the period.
The first person approaches the crown and he is addressed as “Sir Jeremy,” so apparently we are in England. But there is something odd here. The gift brought to the crown is a six pack of Bud Light! Immediately the king (or whatever he is) says “You are a true friend of the crown.” Everyone toasts by raising a Bud Light the strange and ridiculous toast: “Dilly Dilly.”
The next person to approach the crown is a woman but she has a 20 pack of the same. She is declared to be “an even truer friend of the crown,” because, of course, more Bud Light is always better than less.
The populist tone of the commercial is instantly established as the ruling family is actually listening to ordinary people. In line with the current political climate, average people now have a voice. The commercial takes a turn when
The next person is a snobby hipster with an affected way, that guy who loves craft beers and always has more knowledge and drinks something better than you. He is dressed in courtly clothing of the highest order, like St. Thomas More. He brings a single bottle of something with a wax top. He says: “this is a spiced honey mead wine that I have really been into lately.”
We know this dude! He only drinks the best and only the most obscure. Until you have had his latest passion, you are just a loser, maybe even someone who drinks cheap domestics!
So what happens to the elitist hipster?
The man asks if he can have a Dilly Dilly. The king stares disapprovingly…” as we can see, something is upside down in this land. The people (and their tastes) are now in charge. It is not the finely dressed fuss buckets who prevail, with their pretentious and rarefied tastes. No. Now real people rule, with down-to-earth practicality. And these rulers are not so keen to celebrate elitist affectations.
American Exceptionalism is built upon the bedrock principle of individual liberty. Liberal lions such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama have undercut personal freedom by expanding government. Progressive Democrats do not trust ordinary hard-working Americans to govern themselves. Instead, they embrace a system by which elites (who drink spiced honey mead wine) rule over the simpleton masses. It is refreshing to see a commercial that defies this narrative and trumpets the power of the people.
Chris Talgo is senior editor at The Heartland Institute and a research fellow for Heartland’s Socialism Research Center.
