Photo source: Anheuser-Busch
Budweiser’s Super Bowl film “American Icons” uses the brand’s 150th anniversary as a backdrop for a familiar but deliberately amplified expression of Americana. By bringing together a Clydesdale horse, a young bald eagle and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” the spot leans fully into the national symbolism the beer has long cultivated under parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Created by BBDO New York, the 60-second commercial opens with a Clydesdale foal straying from its stable and discovering an injured eaglet near a fallen tree. As a storm sets in, the foal instinctively guides the bird back to safety, beginning a quiet bond that unfolds across the seasons. Repeated attempts by the young eagle to take flight from the horse’s back are observed by nearby farmers, among them Brian Fransen, one of Budweiser’s real barley growers.
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The narrative peaks when the fully grown Clydesdale surges forward and clears a fallen log, revealing the eagle, now mature, spreading its wings and lifting into the air. The moment lands in sync with the climactic guitar solo of “Free Bird,” followed by the familiar pour of Budweiser. The onlooking farmers are visibly emotional, even as they stop short of naming the feeling – underscoring the spot’s restrained, old-school take on patriotic sentiment.
“American Icons” sits within Budweiser’s yearlong “Made of America” platform, which positions the brand’s 150th anniversary as a tribute not just to longevity, but to the people and traditions behind the beer. The campaign spans a series of heritage-pack cans, one of which appears briefly in the film, reinforcing the idea of continuity across generations rather than nostalgia for its own sake.
Behind the patriotic framing sits a clear commercial push. Budweiser is gearing up for its largest media investment in nearly a decade as Anheuser-Busch InBev looks to convert strong brand consideration into regained market share. Directed for a third consecutive year by Henry Alex Rubin, the spot was produced without AI and features a real eagle under official wildlife supervision,
Despite years of declining U.S. volumes, Budweiser continues to occupy a symbolic role within Anheuser-Busch InBev’s portfolio, functioning less as a growth engine and more as a cultural anchor. Few brand assets illustrate this more clearly than the Clydesdales, the horse breed that has been synonymous with Budweiser since Prohibition ended in 1933. In that context, “American Icons” reads less as a reinvention and more as a reaffirmation – doubling down on heritage, pride and emotional shorthand at a moment when brand meaning is under increasing pressure.
