"Instead, it features an unlikely friendship between two animals whose blood runs red, white and blue: a bald eagle and a Clydesdale horse, the Budweiser icon. An adorable foal trots out of a barn, and the viewer is injected with a single minute of American iconography so pure that it would make Lee Greenwood nauseous. The horse meets a struggling baby bird who gets caught in the rain, prompting the horse to stand over the bird as a roof."
"Finally, the horse jumps over a log while the bird spreads its wings above, and we get a slow-motion image of something like Pegasus. We realize the bird, now fully grown, is a majestic bald eagle, taking to the sky as Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird reaches its climax. Two farmers look on while drinking Budweiser, as the words Made of America appear on the screen. You crying? one asks. The sun's in my eyes, says the other."
"They might be right: animals and nostalgia are key elements of a winning Super Bowl ad, according to an analysis of 500 ads at the University of Virginia, and Forbes's Pamela N Danziger expects the Pegasus ad officially titled American Icons to be the Super Bowl's most popular. The focus on a universally beloved phenomenon unlikely animal friendships comes after a Bud Light promotion in 2023 led to one of American history's biggest brand boycotts."
Budweiser's Super Bowl ad American Icons portrays an unlikely friendship between a Clydesdale foal and a baby bird that becomes a bald eagle. The ad uses classic American imagery, slow-motion spectacle, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird to build emotional nostalgia, culminating with the tagline Made of America and farmers drinking Budweiser. Advertisers aim for tearful responses through animals and nostalgia, elements identified as key to successful Super Bowl ads in an analysis of 500 spots at the University of Virginia. Forbes predicts American Icons will be the game's most popular. The ad follows Bud Light's 2023 promotion with Dylan Mulvaney that sparked a major boycott.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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