America wants Clydesdales and Thomas Kinkade lighting in a Hallmark town, by gum.
The much-beloved Budweiser Clydesdale horses will make a 30-second appearance during the Super Bowl this year. This is fine news. It is common knowledge in the greater Abel family that no Super Bowl is complete without the horses’ idyllic trot across Americans’ 4K panels, or Aunt Audrey’s cocktail weenies. But this year, the jingling harnesses also signal that Budweiser is wisely returning to the moving, Americana-infused marketing that made it, and its offshoot Bud Light, the most recognized and consumed beer in the country.
Naturally, the given reason for their return is bloodless C-suite language, as related by Variety:
The Clydesdales have become a Super Bowl favorite, appearing in the commercials that support the NFL extravaganza on 45 different occasions. But their presence is not guaranteed, and largely depends on whether executives at Anheuser-Busch feel they have a creative concept that meets the moment.
The horses typically appear when the brewing giant wants to pull on emotions, feelings of pride, and, occasionally, the funny bone. In 2002, the animals helped a nation heal in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. In 2014 and 2015, a Labrador pup joined the team to spotlight friendship.
“The Clydesdales are always something that’s up for discussion and up for consideration,” says Punwani. “And this year, it just felt like the right moment to bring them back.”
. . .
In 2023, the horses appeared briefly in a spot that ran in a handful of markets during local ad time sold by individual TV stations, part of a bid to focus on areas where Anheuser-Busch felt it could reach a larger proportion of young consumers. In 2021, the brewer benched Budweiser from the Big Game in favor of a message telling consumers to get the coronavirus vaccine. With viewers focused that year on a global pandemic, Coke and Pepsi also took their flagship products out of the Super Bowl rotation.
Make no mistake, the Clydesdales are back because Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Budweiser, took a deserved shellacking regarding the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light saga.
America wants Clydesdales and Thomas Kinkade lighting in a Hallmark town, dadgumit. And that’s what we’re getting — the market at work.
Beautiful:
