Whassup? — Man on couch holding Budweiser bottle and phone, tongue out, from 1999 Whassup commercial

Whassup?

1999catchphraseclassic

Published October 5, 2026

"Whassup?" is the drawn-out greeting from a Budweiser beer ad campaign that debuted during ESPN Monday Night Football on December 20, 1999. The spot showed friends yelling the slurred phrase into phones with tongues extended, and the catchphrase jumped from TV to Flash animation sites, parody films, and sitcom gags across the early 2000s.

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Overview

The original Budweiser spot opens on a guy watching the game on his couch, who picks up a phone call from a friend, and the two trade escalating "Wassup?!" shouts until more friends join the chain1. The campaign ran variations of that setup through 2002, and the tongue-out delivery turned the slurred greeting into a stock impression kids and coworkers did at each other for years after3.

Online, the format drew Flash animators who swapped the Bud friends for Dragon Ball Z fighters, video game characters, and cartoon kids3. In mainstream film and TV, Scary Movie opened on a direct parody, and both the British and American versions of The Office later worked the gag into dialogue1.

Origin & Background

Platform
ESPN Monday Night Football (TV ad) / Newgrounds (viral parody spread)
Creator
Charles Stone III
Date
1999

The first "Whassup?" spot aired on December 20, 1999, during ESPN Monday Night Football1. Director Charles Stone III adapted the commercial from his own short film "True", which starred his real-life friends doing the greeting, and he carried the same cast and tone over to the Budweiser campaign3. The ad is viewable in full on YouTube2.

How It Spread

Flash movie remixes of the ad started appearing on Newgrounds in early 2000, before YouTube existed3. A Newgrounds user named Septimus posted a Dragon Ball Z take on July 15, 2000, in which Goku and Vegeta get fed up with hearing "Wassup?" and kill off the Ginyu Force and Frieza; a later YouTube reupload passed 1.4 million views4.

The campaign ran through 2002 and picked up film and TV parodies, including the opening scene of Scary Movie and gags in both The Office (UK) and The Office (US)1. Budweiser brought the original cast back together for a 2008 remake tied to the Obama campaign cycle, uploaded to YouTube with the greeting swapped for "change"5.

Timeline

1999-12-20

The first "Whassup?" Budweiser spot airs during ESPN Monday Night Football.

2000

Scary Movie opens with a direct parody of the ad, cementing the catchphrase in mainstream film.

2000-07-15

Newgrounds user Septimus posts a Dragon Ball Z "Wassup?" Flash parody that later pulls over 1.4 million views on a YouTube reupload.

2002

Budweiser ends the original "Whassup?" campaign after roughly three years on air.

2008

Budweiser and the original cast reunite for an Obama-themed "change" remake released on YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions