Difference between revisions of "Duff Beer"

Revision as of 18:00, August 18, 2022

Duff redirects here. For the magazine, see Duff (magazine).

For real versions of Duff Beer, see Duff Beer (real world).

"Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff!"

―The Duff Beer slogan

Duff Beer The Duff Beer can logo.

Food/Drink Information Produced by: Duff Corporation Town: Mainly seen in Springfield First appearance: "Homer's Odyssey"

Duff Beer is the most popular brand of beer in Springfield. It is Homer Simpson's favorite drink and is enthusiastically promoted by Duffman, the company mascot.

Duff was endorsed during the Kennedy/Nixon debates by Kennedy, an idea that was then stolen by Nixon when he also tried to declare his support for 'that particular beer'.

Variations of Duff

Duff's equivalent in Shelbyville is Fudd Beer.

Moe Szyslak once tried to sell a bottle of Swedish Duff, or Düff.^[1] After renovating his bar, Moe, for a time, offered a Malaysian beer instead of Duff.^[2]

When Bart, Lisa and Selma visit Duff Gardens there are many different types of Duff. They include:

• Duff Adequate^[3]
• Duff Gingerbread^[4]
• Lady Duff
• Duff Stout^[5]
• Duff Christmas Ale^[6]
• Duff Peanut Butter Lager^[7]
• Duff Blue Ribbon^[8]
• New McDuff Ale^[9]
• Duff's Alcohol-free Beer^[9]
• Duff Gingerbread^[6]
• Duff Tinsel^[6]
• Duff Basement^[10]
• Duff Holo Beer^[10]
• Duff Platinum,^[11] Moe's most expensive beer.
• Duff Swill^[11]
• Duff 200^[12]
• Duff Sangre de los Muertos^[13]
• Duff Intestinal Rough^[14]
• Duff Old Fashioned^[15]
• Duff with Calcium^[16]
• Duff Gordo^[17]
• Duff Holi-Daze^[18]
• Henry K. Duff Private Reserve^[19]
• Duff Japan ^[20]

Behind the Laughter

It has become one of the trademarks of the show appearing in merchandise, popular culture and adverts.

In the episode "Duffless", it is revealed that Duff, Duff Dry and Duff Light are the same beer, to which Homer and Barney are oblivious.

Possible inspiration

While there have been many hypotheses (see below), according to David Silverman, the idea for the slogan "Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff" came first—Matt Groening came up with Duff simply to rhyme with "enough."

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.

Former Guns N' Roses/current Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan (who in the early days of Guns N' Roses was known as Duff "The King Of Beers" McKagan) claimed in his autobiography that Duff was named after him, but Simpsons creators call the claim "absurd."

Similarities to Budweiser

Duff has been likened to Budweiser beer.^[21]

• Budweiser has used a cartoon spokesperson named "Budman", who is similar to Duff's Duffman.^[22]
• 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.^[23]
• 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.

See also

• Duff Gardens
• The Seven Duffs
• Fudd Beer
• Duffman

Appearances

References