Wikipedia's Definition for "Real Men of Genius"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Real Men of Genius is a popular long-running humorous series of American radio advertisements for Bud Light beer created by copywriter Bob Winter. Each ad is sixty seconds in length. The series began in 1999 and was originally called "Real American Heroes". The name was changed after the 9/11 attacks . As of 2005 , over 80 installments in the series have been produced. Winter's campaign has since become the most award-winning radio campaign in the history of advertising.

The ads feature a somber-but- sarcastic announcer and an unctuous rock singer who echoes the announcer's sentiments over schmaltzy " dramatic " piano music . The rock singer's vocals are by one-time Survivor singer David Bickler , not the band's founder and frontman Jim Peterik as is often reported. Bickler was a personal friend of the musician who wrote the "cheesy '80s music" used in the commercials. A female chorus also appears on many of the ads.

Each commercial pays tribute to an "unsung hero" (all of whom are apparently male.)

Television versions have also been produced of some of these spots. The popularity of the series, which is seen as a parody of 1980s beer advertising (including Budweiser 's own from that era), has led to many of the commercials being traded on peer to peer file sharing networks.

In 2003, a CD with 20 of the commercials (including two not aired) was released.