Budweiser "Puppy Love": How a Puppy and a Clydesdale Won the Super Bowl

A golden Labrador puppy lives at an adoption centre next to a horse farm. Every day it escapes to visit the Clydesdales in the stable. It becomes best friends with one of the horses. Then a family arrives to adopt the puppy. As the car drives away, the Clydesdales gallop after it and block the road. The puppy is brought back, and the friends are together again.

The ad was called “Puppy Love.” Budweiser aired it during the 2014 Super Bowl. It was voted the best ad of the game.

The Context

The Budweiser Clydesdales have been a symbol of the brand since 1933, when Anheuser-Busch celebrated the end of Prohibition with a team of the horses pulling a beer wagon. The horses have appeared in Budweiser’s Super Bowl ads for decades, often in emotional stories.

By 2014 Budweiser faced challenges. Craft beer was growing rapidly, and younger drinkers saw Budweiser as their parents’ beer. The company wanted to strengthen its emotional connection with Americans.

The Super Bowl remained the biggest advertising stage in the US, with more than 100 million viewers. Budweiser was one of the event’s most consistent advertisers.

The Campaign

“Puppy Love” was created by the agency Anomaly and directed by Jake Scott. It ran for 60 seconds and had no dialogue. The only sound was Passenger’s song “Let Her Go,” which was a hit at the time.

The story followed a classic friendship arc: meeting, bonding, separation and reunion. The puppy’s repeated escapes gave the story humour, and the moment the Clydesdales galloped to stop the car gave it a powerful emotional climax.

The ad ended with the line “Best Buds” and the Budweiser logo. It did not show anyone drinking beer.

Budweiser released the ad online several days before the game, following the trend set by Volkswagen’s “The Force” in 2011. The ad gained millions of views before it aired on TV, and viewers were waiting for it during the game.

The production was designed to feel like a short film. The farm setting, soft natural light and slow camera movements gave the ad a warm, nostalgic feel. The puppy was filmed doing small, endearing things: squeezing under fences, running across fields, lying in the straw beside the horse. Each scene built the friendship before the separation.

The story also included a human character, a young man who works at the farm and watches the friendship grow. His reaction when the puppy is taken away and when the horses bring it back adds another emotional layer. His presence also connects the story to the idea of the farm as a place of care and tradition, which fitted Budweiser’s heritage.

The ad’s title, “Puppy Love,” and the closing line “Best Buds” were a gentle play on words. “Buds” referred both to best friends and to Budweiser’s nickname. It was the only real product reference in the ad, and it was light enough not to disrupt the emotion.

Why It Worked

It used a beloved icon. The Clydesdales had been part of Budweiser’s advertising for decades. Viewers already had affection for them, which made the story feel familiar and trustworthy.

It told a simple story. A friendship between a puppy and a horse is instantly understandable. There was nothing to explain.

It was emotional without being heavy. The story was sweet and funny, and it had a happy ending. Viewers felt good after watching it.

The music did a lot of work. “Let Her Go” was popular and emotional. It set the tone and made the ad feel like a short film.

It was released early. The online release gave the ad time to spread and built anticipation for the broadcast.

The Results

“Puppy Love” finished first in the USA Today Ad Meter for the 2014 Super Bowl. It became one of the most-watched and most-shared ads of the year, with tens of millions of views online.

The campaign’s commercial impact is harder to measure. Budweiser’s sales volume continued to face long-term pressure from craft beer and changing tastes. But the ads strengthened the brand’s emotional appeal and kept the Clydesdales at the centre of its identity.

Budweiser’s approach also showed how brands could build ongoing characters. The puppy and the Clydesdales returned in “Lost Dog” in 2015, in which the puppy gets lost and is rescued by the horses. It also topped the Ad Meter. Viewers were invested in the characters and wanted to see what happened next. That continuity turned a single ad into a short series.

Over time, Budweiser faced questions about whether emotional ads that did not mention beer were the best use of its Super Bowl budget. In later years, the brand experimented with different approaches, including ads about its history and brewing. But the Clydesdales remained a regular presence, and “Puppy Love” is still one of the most remembered Super Bowl ads of the 2010s.

The Lesson for Today’s Marketers

Brand icons are valuable assets. Budweiser’s Clydesdales carried decades of meaning into a single minute.

Simple stories are the most shareable. “Puppy Love” needed no dialogue and no explanation, which made it work for any audience.

And emotional advertising builds affection, not always sales. Brands should be clear about what they want an ad to do, and measure it accordingly.