Bud Light Sent 1,000 Promotional T-shirts to The Masters in War Over 'Dilly Dilly' Ban

In case you haven’t heard, the Masters just wrapped up in sunny, lovely Augusta, Ga., and we had some exciting and hilarious headlines. Most notable from Thursday's first round was Sergio Garcia’s implosion on the 15th hole, during which he shot five—five!—balls into the same greenside pond to score a whopping 13 (for those of you unfamiliar with golf, the lower the score, the better).

While this writer enjoys the smell of schadenfreude in the morning, the event was made all the more delectable due to a distaste for Garcia dating back to some awful comment he made regarding Tiger Woods. Oh, Sergio also won the tournament last year, which sweetens his downfall even more so.

Apologies for the digression. (No, not to you, Sergio.) Anyway, another headline has struck our collective consciousness into conjuring words to write today.

Even if you don’t watch golf, you’re likely familiar with the catchphrase “Dilly Dilly,” made famous in the lead-up to this year’s Super Bowl. Though cryptic, this earwig of a marketing tool has burrowed its way into our hearts and minds, somehow also managing to convince people to purchase, and even drink, that wheat water known as Bud Light. That’s marketing, folks. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny the power of this phrase. However, if you’re Augusta National, the course that hosts the Masters, you can deny its use.

Apparently, security at Augusta National was given a list of phrases, which, when uttered, become grounds for removal from, well, the grounds of Augusta National. Initial reports said that "Dilly Dilly" was on this list, amidst what we imagine to be some other colorful terms and turns of phrase. While this may have been a relief to some spectators and players alike (and while there's now some controversy over whether "Dilly Dilly" was actually on the list, sigh), Twitter, of course, ran with it, as did Bud Light.

The brand’s response was lighthearted, if not predictable, and it seems that the phrase ban may have backfired for Augusta National. As retaliation, Bud Light reportedly sent an army of 1,000 “Dilly Dilly” T-shirts to the Masters. For evidence, behold the following edict from King John Barley IV:

Our King weighs in on the Dilly Dilly ban. pic.twitter.com/rVxrD5dsNf

— Bud Light (@budlight) April 3, 2018

That’s a whole lot of T-shirts. If they actually made it to Augusta, we fully expect to catch wind of it soon. We'll keep you updated.