Commercial tests taste limits

We lost clever somewhere. Subtlety wasn’t strapped in properly, either, and got left by the roadside. Innuendo comes and goes, but everybody is tired of its schtick. Respect gave up and humor got downsized — it is a recession.

That’s the only way I can think to explain the latest advertisement for Bud Light Lime. Tied to the release of Bud Light Lime in aluminum cans, “Can Confessions” is a video series that Anheuser Busch hopes will go viral. The videos focuses on people who are either shamed, excited, or excessively frank about their enthusiasm for “getting it in the can.” 

It’s these moments that make it seem like we’re speeding towards “Idiocracy,” a future where bright lights and sounds convince us to hit a button in exchange for a treat. Want a fish biscuit, Sawyer?

It’s a vicious cycle. We’re harder to shock, thus it gets harder to make us laugh with something unexpected. So instead, we end up with advertisements that are neither shocking, nor funny — just crass (I’m pointing at you, Shick Quattro advertisement).   

Perhaps the only redeeming factor is the ironic part of this ad campaign — Bud Light Lime tastes like crap.

[Image via Flickr: key expert]