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(Courtesy Anheuser-Busch)
Super Bowl beer ads get a lot of attention. And Anheuser-Busch, which has exclusive rights to all the national beer advertising at the big game, spends millions every season to showcase its brands.
Last year Anheuser-Busch’s flagship Budweiser was benched at Super Bowl LV for the first time in 37 years. That right, no regal Clydesdale horses transporting Budweiser through the snow, no cute little doggies looking longingly out of frosty windows, the “King of Beers” sat the Super Bowl out. The company opted instead for a digital spot promoting COVID-19 vaccine awareness.
But on February 2 Anheuser-Busch announced that its iconic horses (actually just one horse this time around, but there’s also a dog) would be returning in a new commercial directed by Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao, (Nomadland) which follows an injured Clydesdale fighting to come back, mirroring the character of the country stung by the pandemic.
Created for Anheuser-Busch by VaynerMedia “A Clydesdale’s Journey,” is set to an arrangement of Gary Clark Jr.’s live rendition of the national anthem and other pieces of his work.
Yes it’s sentimental, but it is beautifully done and may be one of the best Super Bowl commercial that Anheuser-Busch has ever produced.
“We all fall down in life and the journey to healing is often painful, long and solitary,” said Chloé Zhao, Academy Award-winning director. “To tell a story of perseverance, hope and friendship through the lens of the beloved Clydesdales really resonated with me.”
“We wanted to come back to the Super Bowl with a message of strength and resilience,” said Daniel Blake, Group VP of Marketing, Budweiser & Value at Anheuser-Busch….
“Budweiser has a history of supporting the country through difficult times and reminding communities across America that better days are ahead. With this Super Bowl spot, our goal was to highlight the perseverance and determination of the country and depict that by coming together, we can grow and move forward stronger than before.”
The stars of the commercial, the Budweiser Clydesdales, have been involved in Anheuser-Busch’s television ads since the 1950s, and made their first appearance in the Super Bowl in 1975.
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(All image credits: Anheuser-Busch)
