The Budweiser Clydesdale is back and ready to gallop across the wide plains of 70-inch flatscreens during the upcoming Super Bowl.
The 150-year-old beer company at Anheuser-Busch recently unveiled its brand new commercial for February 8th’s big game, and this year, the patriotic theme is heavy. The brand’s iconic horse is joined, fittingly, by a bald eagle.
In the 60-second commercial, heartstrings are pulled from the get-go with a baby Clydesdale frolicking through an open field, where it stumbles upon a recently hatched baby bird. These ‘American Icons’ are accompanied by the beautiful sounds of none other than one of America’s greatest songs, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” The clip then shows the timid baby eagle left alone in the pouring rain, to which the baby horse comes to the rescue, offering it shelter. In what is most definitely an AI-generated clip of the baby eagle perched upon the teenager’s horse soaring back, two farmers watch as the bird attempts to take flight.
Following the horse through the seasons, viewers then see a broad, fully grown stallion accompanied by the spanning wings of a bald eagle on its back– of course, perfectly timed to the chorus of “Free Bird.” Just as the majestic creature takes flight, the shot switches to an ice-cold Budweiser on tap with the slogan, “Made of America,” across the screen.
Rounding out the key advertising tactics of persuasion with a little bit of humor, the video ends with the one farmer glancing at the other (both with beers in hand) and asking, “You crying?” to which, with teary eyes, he replies, “Suns in my eyes.” It ends with the horse prancing off into the wide, sunlit crop field as the eagle soars above.
With now almost 1.5 million views on YouTube, this commercial seems to be a 180° flip from their marketing following the 2023 controversy surrounding their March Madness commercials. At the time, the Bud Light partnership with transgender influencer and actress, Dylan Mulvaney, reportedly cost them the number one spot as the top beer producer in the United States.
With this ad focusing on repositioning the brand back to its roots, the senior vice president of marketing for Budweiser, Todd Allen, said in a statement, “As we celebrate Budweiser’s 150th anniversary and America’s 250th birthday, we knew we had to rise to the occasion in a way only Budweiser can. ‘American Icons’ brings our heritage to life through powerful storytelling with the Budweiser Clydesdales and an American Bald Eagle.” Adding, “This year’s spot will leave fans awestruck and proud to enjoy a Budweiser as they celebrate our shared milestone moments.”
The majority of the reviews from fans in the comments show a fanatical response to the pro-America-heavy ad, while others continue to stand their ground in the boycott:
“I can’t even remember the last time a commercial made me feel this good! Whoever thought of this is brilliant.”
“A Bald Eagle and a Clydesdale growing up together with Free Bird playing. God Bless America!”
“I’m Canadian but the moment I saw the horse lifting and the wings showing a grandiose Bald Eagle, I had tears in my eyes… Yes Budweiser did it again.”
“This is the best commercial I’ve ever seen in my life”
“I don’t like how Budweiser tastes BUT H*** YEAH”
“Yeah I’m still team Coors after that campaign”
“Nice try Budlight Diddy”
“That’s not American it doesn’t have cr**k needles”
“Awesome video, but still not buying”
“Unfortunately Anheuser-Busch was acquired by InBev (Belgian) in 2008”
“Now let’s just all forget why We Stopped Buying their beer in the first place, right?”
Watch the full clip here: