Budweiser’s “First delivery”

Welcome to the AdMiration newsletter! Each week we analyze new and noteworthy ads to give you our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection).

This week’s ad: “First delivery”???

Our Super Bowl coverage continues! This time we’re looking at one of the best pre-released ads we’ve seen so far.?

“First delivery” is the 47th Super Bowl ad that features the Budweiser Clydesdales, who have appeared in some of the most iconic Super Bowl ads, including the "Puppy Love" commercial from 2014.

The ad opens to a young Clydesdale being told he’s too little to participate in the Budweiser delivery.???????

As the rest of the Clydesdales ride off, the young Clydesdale notices a keg that rolls off of the carriage. He leaps over the stable fence towards the keg and starts rolling it down the road, on a first delivery mission. The Bellamy Brother’s “Let Your Love Flow” begins to play as the young Clydesdale is shown rolling the keg through the hills, over train tracks and even down a stream — where it’s nearly lost after falling down a waterfall.?

The ad ends with two men in a bar playing pool, with one man kicking off a joke, “So a horse walks into a bar and…” just as the young Clydesdale enters, keg rolling in ahead. The Budweiser handler stares at the young Clydesdale in surprise as the words “Delivering since 1876” appear on screen. The ad closes with the Budweiser handler laughing and shaking his head, then pans to a close-up of a fresh pint of Budweiser being poured and the phrase “This Bud’s for you.”??

3 facts

• This year’s Budweiser Super Bowl ad spot is highly successful in driving potential to drive short term sales as well as building the brand, achieving a perfect 100 for Sales Impact and 98 for Brand Impact.

• The ad evokes strong feelings of love from viewers — driving high Love reactions (48% vs a norm of 28%) and an Overall Emotion score of 73 (compared to a norm of 56). This is largely due to the great storytelling and trademark Clydesdales (particularly the brave young foal).?
• The ad is very engaging. At 100 seconds long, the audience was captivated throughout, with 90% of viewers watching the full ad! This is not easy to accomplish in a world with shortened attention spans and is a testament to the great storytelling within the ad.?

2 learnings

• Distinctive brand assets (DBAs) are a key element for success. When done right, they can serve as an indicator that helps people to immediately recognize your brand. The use of DBAs can also allow for some creative freedom when it comes to the storyline, opening up more opportunities for great storytelling without having to “force” the brand. The best DBAs are those that the brand “owns” fully, can be used consistently and have an innate ability to create emotion for the brand.
• Fresh consistency is also a powerful element for brands when it comes to advertising. Budweiser’s consistent use of the Clydesdales resonates with viewers and cues the brand, but they’re also able to be delivered with new storylines that make it feel fresh but also familiar — almost like a series you get hooked on.

1 reflection

Do you treat your ads like mini movies, thinking about each moment, character and setting to take people on an emotional journey??

Great storytelling goes a long way in advertising, hooking your audience, getting them involved and having the ad stick with them long after it airs. That memorability is a very powerful way to get people to remember your brand and how it made them feel.?

For more data & analysis

There’s a lot more to say about this ad!

Go to the Zappi blog for a more detailed look at this ad’s performance — including more data around the emotional resonance.

And don't miss our report of our Super Bowl findings after the big game. Reserve your copy now and we’ll send it to you when it’s ready!

Until next week,

Kim Malcolm