An AdFreak reader points us to this odd Election 2008-themed Budweiser ad, in which the “Lager Lessons” spokesman seems to offer a cryptic metaphor involving presidential candidates and beer. When it comes time to choose, he advises a young female voter, you don’t want anything too dark (or, as he more diplomatically puts it, too “heavy”), and you don’t want anything too light. You want something in the middle— i.e., Budweiser. The way it’s set up, you have to figure the dark, imported beer is a reference to Barack Obama (who isn’t technically an import, though his father was Kenyan). Which would make the light beer, perhaps, Hillary Clinton. It’s unclear who the Bud bottle is—some unsung candidate with a huge neck. By that point in the ad, though, the Lager Lessons guy is already backing away from his metaphor. He’s only talking about “flavor and refreshment,” he insists, adding: “What did you think I was talking about?”

—Posted by Tim Nudd