Where are the Clydesdales? Budweiser released its 2017 Super Bowl ad “Born the Hard Way” on Tuesday, January 31. The 60-second commercial, which you can watch above, highlights cofounder Adolphus Busch’s 1876 emigration from Hamburg, Germany, to the United States.
After Busch leaves his homeland and arrives in America, a stranger shouts at him, “You’re not wanted here. Go back home!” He is then seen getting his paperwork stamped before traveling to St. Louis, Missouri, where he meets the man who would later become his business partner, Eberhard Anheuser.
The ad concludes with the tagline “When nothing stops your dream, this is the beer we drink.”
“This commercial shows the start of Budweiser’s journey, and while it is set in the 1800s, it’s a story we believe will resonate with today’s entrepreneurial generation — those who continue strive for their dreams,” Budweiser vice president of marketing Ricardo Marques said in a press release.
Budweiser chief creative officer Mike Byrne added, “When Budweiser told us they wanted to celebrate those who embody the American spirit, we realized the ultimate story lived within their own brand history. Adolphus Busch is the hero of the Anheuser-Busch American dream story, which makes him the perfect protagonist.”
The commercial debuted days after President Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order that indefinitely banned admissions for Syrian refugees, temporarily barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and temporarily suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. A Brooklyn judge ordered an emergency stay after protesters stormed major airports across the U.S. in opposition of the ban.
Watch Budweiser’s 2017 Super Bowl ad above!
