Horse Illustrated Magazine

Perhaps you’ve heard of Budweiser. It’s an independent film production company that, over the past two decades, has specialized in producing short, often humorous features about a herd of Clydesdale horses and their canine friends.

What you may not know about Budweiser is that they also make beer, and in recent years they have stepped away from making Clydesdale movies in order to focus on the marketing of that beer, much to the chagrin of horse lovers everywhere.

For Super Bowl LI, Budweiser used its ad spot to showcase its own history by following the journey of company co-founder Adophus Busch as he left his native Germany to come to America, ultimately landing in St. Louis. So while the Clydesdales are taking an indefinite hiatus from starring in commercials, what are they doing? Watching the game, of course.

Fans could go to Facebook or Periscope to watch three of the Clydesdales–Rascal, Chief, and McGee–chowing down on their favorite Super Bowl snacks from their cozy living room during the first half of the game. It doesn’t look like they’re paying much attention to what’s happening with the game, but that’s understandable. It wasn’t all that exciting until the very end.

For those of you who were looking out for horses during the commercial breaks, you may have noticed an equine presence beyond the Clydesdales’ brief cameo in the Budweiser ad. Luxury car maker Alfa Romeo had about a half-second of a show jumper in slow motion in the middle of its 60-second spot. One of the fabled King’s Horses appeared in the latest chapter of an ongoing ad campaign by TurboTax. Meanwhile, all that build up for the Snickers live ad was for nothing, at least as far as horse sighting goes.

Feeling let down? Check out this ad for water, or this ad for Lloyds Bank to see horses front and center in mainstream advertising.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com