Budweiser Tapped Eternals Director Chloé Zhao For A Clydesdale’s Super Bowl Return

Got any plans for Sunday, Feb. 13? If it’s anything but watching the 2022 Super Bowl (well, the commercials during the game), you’re gonna want to reschedule. After taking a year off, Budweiser is making its grand return to the Super Bowl stage with the help of a familiar four-legged friend. When the brand released a teaser trailer on Jan. 26, fans were thrilled to see Budweiser is back with a commercial for Super Bowl 2022. And the full ad, which was released on Feb. 2, features a comeback story and an animal duo you won’t want to miss.

As a refresher, the last Budweiser Super Bowl commercial aired in 2020 and was called “Typical American.” It juxtaposed “typical American” stereotypes with clips of people doing things like putting out fires, winning races, and helping out others, closing with a line: “Nest time someone labels you ‘typical,’ show them what typical can do.” Of course, you didn’t see Budweiser ad in 2021 since the brand sat out the game and instead focused on vaccine awareness.

Well, the beer brand is back, and though the 2022 Budweiser Super Bowl commercial teaser didn’t provide too much insight, one thing is for sure: There will be an appearance from a well-known “brand icon,” aka a Clydesdale horse.

Budweiser shared the full commercial on Feb. 2. “A Clydesdale’s Journey” was directed by Chloé Zhao (known for Nomadland and The Eternals), and it tells the story of an injured Clydesdale horse that woks its way back to full speed, a scene previewed in the initial teaser.

As the Clydesdale overcomes a fall on some barbed fencing, the horse is looked after by a vet, the stableman, and a trusty dog. Everywhere the Clydesdale goes, the dog is right there, even galloping as the horse reaches full strength at the end of the ad.

According the Budweiser press release shared with Elite Daily, the ad is meant to embody the resilience of the American people — a message driven home at the end of the ad when the screen reads: “Down never means out.” Zhao’s cinematic influence is also seen throughout. In the press release, Zhao said the message of falling down and getting back up really resonated with her, and the chance to work with the brand icon did as well. “To tell a story of perseverance, hope and friendship through the lens of the beloved Clydesdales really resonated with me,” Zhao said in the release. You can see the full ad below:

It’s been a couple years since the famous horse hit the small screen. In 2019, Budweiser tapped the help of another adorable animal spokesperson — a Dalmatian. The 2019 commercial showed the spotted pooch sitting on top of a horse and carriage (helmed by eight Clydesdales, obviously) as Bob Dylan’s 1963 hit “Blowin' In The Wind” played. As the camera panned out, it revealed a skyline of wind turbines. The tagline read, “Now brewed with wind power,” to promote the company’s sustainability goal of converting to 100% purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

After making their advertisement debut in 1933, the Clydesdale horse breed has been a staple of the Anheuser-Busch company for nearly 90 years, so it only makes sense that the brand brought in a classic Clydesdale to help mark its highly anticipated return to the Super Bowl.

To see the redemption story in primetime, make sure to tune in to the 2022 Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 13.