Budweiser’s Super Bowl 2022 Commercial Reunites Wounded Clydesdale and Dog

Budweiser has brought back a Clydesdale with its new Super Bowl commercial to remind football fans “down never means out.” Ahead of Super Bowl LVI, airing today on NBC, the beer brand’s iconic Clydesdale fights through injury to reunite with its canine friend. Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao, who helmed Marvel’s Eternals and Oscar-winner Nomadland, directed the ad. It’s already available online, and you can watch it below.

The commercial, titled “A Clydesdale’s Journey,” follows the horse as it fights to recover from an injury sustained while jumping over a fence. With the love of its human caregivers and puppy pal, the Clydesdale manages to get to its feet once again, triumphantly returning to gallop over the wide-open plains as a rendition of Gary Clark Jr.’s version of the U.S. national anthem plays. At the end, Budweiser reminds viewers of the American spirit, saying, “In the home of the brave, down never means out.”

The Clydesdale’s journey symbolizes the journey of Americans all over to keep moving forward through the COVID-19 pandemic. “We all fall down in life and the journey to healing is often painful, long and solitary,” Zhao said in statement. “To tell a story of perseverance, hope and friendship through the lens of the beloved Clydesdales really resonated with me.”

This ad marks the return of Budweiser to the Super Bowl after taking last year off to use advertising funds to support COVID-19 vaccine efforts. “As America’s beer, we wanted to come back to the Super Bowl with a message of strength and resilience,” Daniel Blake, Group VP of Marketing, Budweiser & Value at Anheuser-Busch, said in a press release. “Budweiser has a history of supporting the country through difficult times and reminding communities across America that better days are ahead.”

He added that Budweiser hopes to “highlight the perseverance and determination of the country and depict that by coming together, we can grow and move forward stronger than before.” Along with the ad, the beer brand is donating to the Small Business Relief Fund, which Blake told USA Today only felt right. “Newer brands or nascent brands, they don’t have that responsibility to use this platform in the same way,” he said. “But for a brand like Budweiser, we do have that responsibility.”