Budweiser is Ditching its Clydesdales – Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Budweiser will do away with its trademark ads that feature Clydesdale horses to appeal to a younger demographic.
The Truth:
Budweiser says it doesn’t have any plans to put its legendary Clydesdale horses out to pasture.
The eRumor started with an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on November 23, 2014, that said Budweiser would stable its Clydesdales in seasonal and Super Bowl ads in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic.
According to the article:
“After years of developing advertising and marketing that appeals to all ages, AB InBev plans to concentrate future Budweiser promotions exclusively on that age bracket. That means it won’t trot out the traditional Budweiser Clydesdales for this year’s holiday advertising. It means February’s Super Bowl ads will feature something more current than last year’s Fleetwood Mac. It means less baseball and more raves with DJ group Cash Cash.”
Within days, however, Budweiser said the Budweiser Clydesdales aren’t going anywhere. According to Budweiser Vice President Brian Perkins:
“There have never been any plans to remove our beloved Budweiser Clydesdales from our brand identity. In fact, we can confirm they will return to the Super Bowl in 2015. And they are stars of our new online holiday campaign that has been in production for months.
“Let me be clear, straight from the horse’s mouth: The Budweiser Clydesdales are here to stay and will continue to play a central role in our campaigns, including holidays and Super Bowl. They represent the quality and heritage of the No.1 full-flavored lager in America.”
The Wall Street Journal and other publications said that the Clydesdales would be replaced in ads with more trendy stars like zombies and hip-hop artist Jay-Z. However, Budweiser has featured Jay-Z and other artists in its ads before without doing away with the Clydesdales, so this appears to be business as usual for Budweiser.