Budweiser Brings Clydesdales Back for Nostalgic Super Bowl Comeback

The Clydesdales are back from the Super Bowl. On Wednesday, Budweiser released a first look at the ad that features the Clydesdales and a Labrador, another staple of Budweiser Super Bowl commercials. The ad shows the horses helping a small town deal with the challenges of a snowstorm. The horses nudge their owner to help by delivering beer to the people, and the Labrador guides them into the town. The ad ends with a message "Delivering Since 1876."

According to Variety, the Clydesdales have appeared in Super Bowl commercials on 45 different occasions. While the commercials are popular with fans, the presence of the Clydesdales is not guaranteed as Anheuser-Busch makes the decision based on a "creative concept that meets the moment."

"Budweiser has been synonymous with the Super Bowl for decades and the broadcast continues to be a very special moment for our brand and a core pillar of our advertising strategy," Budweiser USA marketing head Kristina Punwani said in a Wednesday statement, per Fox Business. "We knew there was no better way to show Budweiser's continued commitment to delivering for its fans than with our biggest celebrities [the Clydesdales]."  

In 2023, the Clydesdales briefly appeared in a commercial that ran in a limited number of markets during local ad time sold by individual television stations, part of a bid to focus on areas that could reach a larger number of younger consumers. In 2021, Anheuser-Busch did not air a commercial from Budweiser during the Super Bowl but instead shared a message telling consumers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. 

"The Big Game will always have a role in our strategy," Punwani said in an interview last year, per Variety. "What we are trying to do this year is to be really, really smart and really tactical on hitting the consumer where they are at." The goal, she says, is to reach potential customers in specific areas, while remaining confident that many people will be able to see the Budweiser ads via social and digital media.  

Anheuser-Busch first introduced the Clydesdales in 1933 following the repeal of Prohibition. August A. Busch Jr. and Adolphus III surprised their father, August A. Busch Sr., with the gift of a six-horse Clydesdale hitch, similar to a traditional beer wagon. The Clydesdales first appeared in a Super Bowl commercial in 1975. Super Bowl LVIII will air on CBS, Nickelodeon and Paramount+ on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET.