Duff Beer
- 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
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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'.
Contents
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 Dry
- Duff Lite
- Duff Dark
- Duff Extra Cold
- Raspberry Duff
- Tartar Control Duff
- Lady Duff
- Duff Stout
- Duff Blue
- Duff Zero, an alcohol free variant
- Duff Ice
- Duff Red
- Duff Special Reserve
- Duff Draft
- Duff Malt
- Duff Lager
- Duff Christmas Ale
- Duff Platinum
- Duff Swill
- Duff Amber Fire, which is only sold in Canada.
- Duff Peanut Butter Lager[4]
- Duff Blue Ribbon[5]
- New McDuff Ale[6]
- Duff's Alcohol-free Beer[6]
- Duff Gingerbread[7]
- Duff Tinsel[7]
- Duff Basement[8]
- Duff Holo Beer[8]
- Duff Platinum
- Duff Swill
Other non drinkable Duff products include a Duff Beer Suitcase, Duff Gummy Beers, Duff Beer Calendars, Duff Memory Sticks and beer goggles that let you see and hear everything like a drunk.
Behind the Laughter
It has become one of the trademarks of the show appearing in merchandise, popular culture and adverts.
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.[9]
- Budweiser has used a cartoon spokesperson named "Budman", who is similar to Duff's Duffman.[10]
- 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.[11]
- 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
Appearances
References
- ↑ "The Springfield Files"
- ↑ "Homer the Moe"
- ↑ "A Tree Grows in Springfield"
- ↑ "The Marge Book"
- ↑ The Simpsons: Tapped Out
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Simpsons Screen Saver
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 'Tisn't the Season
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Simpsorama"
- ↑ "Advertising of America's Beer Companies and the Duff Corporation", The Simpsons Archive
- ↑ August A. Busch & Co. of MA, Inc.
- ↑ Budweiser official page
