Beer and Candy

Today's Bizarro takes a peek inside a watering hole frequented by advertising characters.

Obviously, the sugary sea captain and the aristocratic legume have heard this one a few too many times, but the old codger with the Mexican beer in hand just won't give up on it. Most of us have worked with (or are related to) someone who repeats the same tired joke at every opportunity, and can sympathize with to the eye-rolling patrons of this particular tavern.

My submission sketch was fairly rough, but conveyed the idea. I'd originally included Elsie the Borden cow, but she was replaced by the more recognizable Mister Peanut. Maybe it was boys' night out.

In the sketch, the marshmallow man's perturbed face is partly visible, but Bizarro CEO Dan Piraro chose to depict just the back of his head, which does a better job of showing that this comment has been repeated so many times that anger has given way to indifference and resignation.

About a third of the people who previewed this cartoon didn't get it at all. This indicates that they probably don't waste a lot of time watching television, particularly the commercials, which speaks well of them.

The gag is based on "The Most Interesting Man in the World," an advertising character created to sell Dos Equis beer, portrayed by a guy named Jonathan Goldsmith. Goldsmith is fairly interesting in his own right. One of the character's taglines is "Stay thirsty, my friend." Dos Equis was a low-profile regional brand that has become very popular because of these "most interesting" commercials.

The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man (much to my surprise) was created by the writers of the 1984 film "Ghostbusters," and was not a real consumer product. In 2010, Omni Consumer Products, a company that "defictionalizes" made-up products, began marketing actual edible marshmallows under the formerly-fake Stay-Puft brand.

So, if you didn't get the joke, you're probably an educated person of taste, whose head isn't filled with trash-culture detritus, and for that I commend you.

My next joint effort with Dan Piraro will appear on September 6, and might anger some fans/worshipers of a certain "magical" kiddie-entertainment empire. Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime, help yourself to my previous collaborations with the multi-talented Mister P.

Please enjoy these cartoons responsibly. And stay risible, my friends.