Sam Adams Nabs Bud’s Bit

Budweiser’s Clydesdales might be missing from the Super Bowl this year, but Sam Adams plans to run its own ad featuring America’s four-legged icons.

The ad will promote Sam Adams Wicked Hazy IPA, featuring horses similar to the Clydesdales that have appeared on Budweiser’s ads each year since 1975, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The news comes after Anheuser-Busch InBev announced earlier this week that it will not run Budweiser ads during the Super Bowl this year, and instead plans to “reallocate the media investment” to ongoing COVID-19 awareness efforts.

• The company will still run national commercials for Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Anheuser-Busch itself. 
• It’s unclear if the horses will appear in any of those spots, but it opens the door for other companies to capitalize on the idea.

“You see the Clydesdales and you immediately think Super Bowl without even saying the word,” said Jeff Goodby, co-founder of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and creator of the new Sam Adams ad.

Boston Beer Co. — Sam Adams’ parent company — will only run the ad in New York and Boston, evading AB InBev’s longtime deal as the exclusive alcohol advertiser for the Super Bowl.

By only running local ads, Boston Beer will also save millions: 30 seconds of national airtime during the Super Bowl costs around $5.6 million. The company is paying $770,000 for its local commercials and will shell out $2.5 million total for the campaign, including social media, search and online video ads.

The goal of the tactic is to create enough buzz from the ad to make it “national” via other means like social platforms and media coverage.