What Happened To The Budweiser 'Wassup' Guys?

While we controversially included Budweiser's "Wassup" TV spot in our "worst" category when we ranked the best and worst Super Bowl beer commercials of all time (along with Miller Lite's Evil Beavers and a Presidente ad featuring former baseball player Alex Rodriguez), the 1999 Budweiser ad remains a beloved cultural touchstone for many. Parodied in films like "Scary Movie" and quoted ad nauseam by every amateur comedian who ever encountered it, the commercial has firmly entrenched itself in our collective consciousness. Budweiser's "Wassup" commercial even came back in 2020 as part of a PSA about loneliness during the pandemic.

While many ads are developed by money-minded executives (especially those that air during the Super Bowl, which can cost as much as $8 million per ad), this famous Budweiser spot is unique in that it sprung from the mind of an independent filmmaker. In fact, the ad was inspired by "True," a short film created by music video director and filmmaker Charles Stone III. The film featured Stone in the lead role, along with a few of his real-life friends, and utilized an inside joke that was popular among the pals. According to Stone, "For us, [the 'Wassup' greeting] was much more distorted and absurd, which a lot of our humor was based in." Eventually, the short film caught the eye of Budweiser execs, and the rest is history. Since the commercial, Stone has directed many feature films, including the Bernie Mac-starring baseball comedy "Mr. 3000," as well as "Drumline," "Paid in Full," and "Lila & Eve," featuring Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez.

In addition to filmmaker and star Charles Stone III, perhaps the most famous character in Budweiser's iconic "Wassup" commercial is Dookie, who's seen sitting in front of an enormous technological artifact known as a desktop computer. Portrayed by Scott Martin Brooks, a longtime friend of Stone according to a 2022 interview with Daily Blast LIVE, the character of Dookie was actually portrayed by someone else in Stone's original short film. At Stone's urging, Brooks attended the Budweiser audition and ultimately landed the role.

According to Brooks, the Budweiser TV spot "Completely changed [his] life." Brooks worked as a bouncer prior to the commercial, but he quickly caught the acting bug, and his IMDb page now lists appearances in several TV shows, as well as a role in the Stone-directed movie "Mr. 3000." As for how he feels about the legacy of the "Wassup" ad, Brooks expressed appreciation toward the continued fan response. "We could have gotten famous for something everybody hated ... but it's love, it's all love," Brooks told Daily Blast LIVE. He went on to share his thoughts about fans recreating the famous greeting featured in the commercial, explaining, "When people do it, they do it from a place of, you know, love." While Bud Light will be calling on some big names for this year's Super Bowl spot (including Post Malone and Peyton Manning), we can't help but pine for the days when commercials featured inventive concepts developed by budding filmmakers and actors.