The renaissance of the quintessential American man is upon us. In 1997 we received our first glimpse of him. He disappeared only to show up again in various forms. Most of the time we only see half a face or maybe an arm.
You won’t find this man on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” because he is fine with his flannels and charcoal grill. His home is what Newton Minow called a “vast wasteland,” but this vast wasteland is paradise for the High Life Man.
The High Life Man lives up to his name. He is not surrounded by the bling of a Li’l Romeo or C-Murder. Those things aren’t necessary, nor should they be.
Today’s High Life Man finds his origins in 1997 during Miller Light’s “Dick” campaign. The first advertisement featuring Dick started off with this line: “This is Dick. Dick is a creative superstar and the man behind the advertising you are about to witness. We gave Dick a six-pack of Miller Light and some money and asked him to come up with a commercial for Miller Light …” The rest is history.
One of the earliest advertisements involved a man surrounded by sobbing women watching a French chick flick. The man looks indifferent until a bottle of Miller Light rolls down one of the aisles and crashes to its death. This unfortunate end brings the man to tears.
Dick would eventually fade from the spotlight. Today’s High Life Man embodies every quality that made Dick a legend.
The High Life Man knows respect. One of the latest commercials depicts a man grilling a steak. All the while he is stating his respect for Noah and how he resisted the urge to eat the cattle while on the Ark. If you think about it, respect is a quality that this country was founded on. When the founding fathers were writing up the Declaration of Independence, they too embodied qualities that would make the High Life Man proud.
The High Life Man is determined. Riding on a bike through a blizzard in the middle of winter, he returns from the store with a 12-pack of High Life. This act would puzzle most people but is common sense to him. He would rather let “all the OPECs” keep their oil instead of stealing his High Life. To ensure that he doesn’t lose this, he is willing to brave the elements and possibly death.
The High Life Man is indifferent, but not un-passionate. Although he likes his time with the guys and the bottle, the High Life Man is willing to sacrifice a meal with the guys at Twin Donuts to get the wife a carton of eggs.
The High Life Man keeps everything simple. When asked about what is an American, he hits the spot with his national knockwurst statement. Taking a relatively complex question, the High Life Man spits out the answer with relative ease. Comparing the unwanted masses of Europeans to the cast-off elements of slaughtered cattle that make up a hotdog, he flawlessly connects the two in a legendary display of High Life jargon. The message is modern, yet timeless.
The High Life Man is a role model. Role models are hard to come by these days. When seemingly perfect role models find themselves caught in sexual-assault trials, we start to second-guess ourselves when it comes to asking if we really know people. The High Life Man leaves no one guessing. He is compassionate, knowledgeable, ethical, has morals, is sensitive, knows how to listen, eats with his mouth closed and can bowl over 200.
The next time you walk out onto the streets, take some time and look around. Out there wandering the streets is a renaissance man. Where can you find this man? The High Life Man lives down the street, next door and at the local diner. Then again, he may also live inside of you.
Derek Montgomery ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.
