Dilly Dilly

For John, BLUF:  Advertising genius.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Genius of the “Dilly Dilly” Commercial

From the Foundation for Economic Education, by Mr Jeffrey A. Tucker, 4 December 2017.

Here is the lede plus two:

Sometimes a commercial appears that both shatters a paradigm and creates a popular meme that truly sticks.  The genius is undeniable but extremely hard to manufacture from a formula.  It just works.  Think of “I’d like to teach the world to sing,” “Where’s the beef?”, “Mikey likes it!”, and “Do you have any Grey Poupon?”  All these were huge cultural moments that managed to achieve what advertising is supposed to achieve:  brand recognition, pride in consumption, affirmation of cultural identity.

We had another one come to us in 2017.  It’s Bud Light’s Dilly Dilly commercial that first ran during an NFL game.

I ordered a Bud Light at a random bar in Chicago this weekend.  The bartender said “Dilly Dilly” to me and I said it back and we smiled and moved on.  When I was speaking the previous day, I kept a Bud Light on the podium and, at some point, held it up and said “Dilly Dilly” and half the audience lost it (while the other half was just lost).

Where does Dilly Dilly come from?  I suspect the child's song Lavender's Blue:

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen:
Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?
'Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.

Here is Burl Ives singing the song (on YouTube).

Hat tip to the Foundation for Economic Education.

Regards  —  Cliff