In some of the worst news I have heard in a while, Budweiser announced last week that it would not run a Clydesdale commercial in the big game with super stupid copyright restrictions on its name Super Bowl. The Clydesdales have been in Super Bowl ads since 2002, and are one of the most recognizable icons in all of advertising. After considerable public outcry, Budweiser has decided to let fans vote among three ads for one Super Bowl Spot, with one of the ads including the incredible horses. The vote is being held on Budweiser’s Facebook fan page, which, of course, requires that you become a fan to view the commercials, but you can always un-fan Budweiser after viewing them (click here and look on the left sidebar to un-friend). The commercial with the Clydesdales, titled ‘Fence’ shows a steer befriending a Clydesdale and breaking through a fence to be with it’s friend. If you don’t have Facebook, it looks like you will be able to see the ad on Sunday, because, looking through 5 pages of comments, %100 of the comments that mention a vote are voting for the Clydesdale ad.
Without getting too excited about business strategy, which is entirely possible for me, I remember one of my economics professors in college talking about Budweiser as one of the best marketing companies in the World. They are one of the only companies that dares to mix humor, sex, and tradition based ads as part of a simultaneous and comprehensive campaign. And, of course, they do gimmicks like this commercial vote to generate massive amounts of free advertising. Please go eventing responsibly.
My favorite Clydesdale ad
