Beavis and Butthead is/are a cartoon, a product of their time, a cultural phenomenon, and a couple of annoying teenagers.

As a cartoon they were created by Mike Judge as a short animation for MTV, premiering on the show Liquid Television. They eventually gained a regular slot, and can still be seen today. Mike Judge, incidentally, went on to produce another cartoon, King of the Hill.

As a product of their time the represent a lot of the ethic the MTV was trying to give their station, whether it truly had it or not. Slacker humour and no brainer innuendo's aren't necessarily as dumb as they may first appear, and there was quite a lot of appeal across a fairly diverse set of groups.

As a cultural phenomenon Beavis and Butthead were fairly short lived, but at the height of their fame span off an album, the Beavis and Butthead Experience, several games, including a quiz and one that involved spitting, and a movie, Beavis and Butthead Do America¹.

At that height, Beavis and Butthead could be compared to The Simpsons² or South Park, though both seem to have longer lasting and more widespread appeal.

As a couple of annoying teenages, they really suck.