Difference between revisions of "Duff Beer"
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"Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff!" - the Duff Beer slogan
Duff Beer is the biggest brand of beer in the Simpsons universe. It's Homer's favorite, and is endorsed by Barry Duffman a.k.a Duffman. Duff's equivalent in Shelbyville is Fudd Beer.
Contents
Possible inspiration
The word "duff" is common English slang for "useless" or "broken" (it can also mean pregnant, in the phrase "up the duff"). Like many other countries, discerning beer-drinkers often characterize popular domestic brews in a pejorative way (American criticize Budweiser, Australians discount Fosters, Victoria Bitter et cetera) as being mass-market swill. Clearly, the character of Homer represents the typical mindless drone who would drink whatever beer was marketed most heavily, regardless of quality, as satire of undiscriminating beer drinkers who routinely purchase "popular" (read: heavily advertised) beer.
The idea for the name of the beer possibly could have come from the play "Landscape" written by Nobel prize-winner Harold Pinter. Landscape is a one act play where the leading characters, Beth and Duff a middle aged couple, sit and talk at a kitchen table. One of the leading topics that is discussed by Duff is his job at the local brewery known for their keg beer. The play itself is a social commentary analyzing the difficulty at which a married couples communicate. In this sense, "Landscape" could also be a possible inspiration for the characterization of Marge and Homer as well.
Another inspiration may have come from former Guns N' Roses/current Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan who in the early days of Guns N' Roses was known as Duff McKagan "The King Of Beers". However, whether the nick name was gleaned from the show, or whether it served as inspiration for the show, is unclear.
Similarities to Budweiser
Duff has been likened to Budweiser beer.[1]
- Budweiser has used a cartoon spokesperson named "Budman", who is similar to Duff's Duffman.[2]
- Budweiser used a real dog called Spuds MacKenzie as a mascot to promote Bud Light. In the episode "Old Yeller Belly", the Simpson's dog, Santa's Little Helper becomes Duff's mascot under the name Suds McDuff.
- Like Duff's, the Budweiser logo has violet diagonal areas above the product's name.[3]
- Duff is the corporate sponsor to a stadium and an amusement park which parallels Budweiser's corporate parent, Anheuser-Busch with Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Busch Gardens.
- During the Super Bowl in the episode "Lisa the Greek", Duff has an advertisement where Duff Lite and Duff Dry play in the Duff Bowl, which is analogous to Budweiser's Bud Bowl.
Duff Gardens
In the episode entitled "Selma's Choice", Bart and Lisa Simpson travel with their aunt Selma to Duff Gardens, a parody of the Busch Gardens amusement park, but also containing elements of Disneyland. In the gift shop, Bart spots "Beer Goggles", a sort of glasses that mimicks what drunks see. Aunt Selma appears young, feminine, and beautiful to Bart and also somehow, alters her voice. Later, they see the mascots of Duff Beer, the Seven Duffs: Sleazy, Queazy, Edgy, Surly, Tipsy, Remorseful, and Dizzy. Surly is often seen in other episodes such as when Moe's is closing down, Surly pours some of his liquid onto the street in front of it. Bart and Lisa ride "The Little Land of Duff" attraction, where they hear this song (repeated over and over):
- Duff Beer for me!
- Duff Beer for you!
- I'll have a Duff,
- You have one too!
This is a direct parody of the "It's a Small World" attraction at Disney parks. Unlike that attraction, the boats float on a brown liquid, most likely stagnant recycled beer, with hallucinogenic properties, which Lisa drinks on a dare from Bart.
Other Duff Gardens attractions include the Beeramid, the Beerquarium ("Home of the world's happiest fish"), the Beer Hall of Presidents, the Washing Machine ride, the Whiplash rollercoaster, singing group Hooray for Everything (who sing a politically correct version of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" and are based on Up with People), and a direct parody of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade.
The Seven Duffs
The Seven Duffs are characters at the Duff Gardens theme park. The "Duffs" are a reference to Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, although Duff Gardens is an obvious parody of Busch Gardens. The Seven Duffs are named Tipsy, Queasy, Surly, Sleazy, Edgy, Dizzy and Remorseful. The only one that has spoken so far is Surly: "Hey, Surly only looks out for one guy...Surly!", "Shut Up" and "Take a picture, it'll last longer. Get outta here!" While waving to people at the Duff Dayz Beer Festival, "Drink Duff (covers mouth with hand) responsibly." All seven can be seen on a rotating poster in Moe's Tavern in The Simpsons: Hit & Run.
Real Duff beers
In the late 1990s, the Lion Nathan brewery in Australia produced an unrelated beer called "Duff Beer". 20th Century Fox brought legal action against the company.[4] The product was ordered to be pulled off of store shelves and destroyed, becoming a collectors item in the process.
Daleside Brewery in England makes a Duff beer[5] - Duff being Gaelic for dark, this is a 5% abv dark beer.
In 2007 a Duff energy drink was made which looked just like the beer on The Simpsons.[citation needed]
In 2005 in Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico a young business man opened his own duff beer
Duff Scam
As reported on the T.V. show Inside Edition, there was a scam in 2004 where an Austrailian woman was sold a Duff beer similar to the one on The Simpsons (in which the can had the same logo as the can on the show). She went to court to sue the person who sold it to her but the case was thrown out by the judge a few days later.- ↑ "Advertising of America's Beer Companies and the Duff Corporation", The Simpsons Archive
- ↑ August A. Busch & Co. of MA, Inc.
- ↑ Budweiser official page
- ↑ TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION AND MATT GROENING PRODUCTIONS INC v. THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BREWING CO LTD AND LION NATHAN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD No. NG 155 of 1996 FED No. 365/96 Trade Practices - Passing Off. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ↑ http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/daleside-duff/5502/
