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Anheuser-Busch outlines plans for Super Bowl advertising: puppies and Clydesdales return

Associated Press

The puppies and the Clydesdales are coming back.

Anheuser-Bush is bringing back its canine and Clydesdales combo this Super Bowl, hoping to top last year's "Puppy Love" spot that showed a cute puppy bonding with a Clydesdale and topped most advertising polls as the top spot of the Big Game.

Super Bowl 49 is set to be broadcast on Feb. 1 by NBC in Phoenix and advertisers are already detailing their ad plans. It's advertising's biggest showcase, with 30-second spots reportedly going for $4.5 million, and about 111.5 million people tuning in last year, according to Nielsen, so the stakes are high.

"The mass appeal of the Super Bowl presents an unparalleled platform to launch 360-degree campaigns that ultimately deliver against our top priority: sell more beer," said Jorn Socquet, vice president, U.S. marketing at Anheuser-Busch.

Anheuser-Busch, traditionally one of the biggest advertisers during the game, said Wednesday that it plans to air two 60-second spots for its Budweiser brand, including one called "Lost Dog" that features a "heartwarming tale of two friends having each others' backs," said Brian Perkins, Budweiser vice president. A second 60-second ad is still under wraps for now, but both spots are expected to be pre-released before the Super Bowl airs.

For its Bud Light brand, A-B will air another 60 second spot, called "Coin." Similar to last year, the ad will be shot in reality-TV style and feature a real fan that is having an adventure with a life-size, interactive Pac Man game, in keeping with the brand's tagline "Up for Whatever."

Anheuser-Busch has another 30-second spot that it is still deciding how to fill.

The goal with the entire campaign is to target millennials and be "digital first," said Socquet. St. Louis-based Anheuser-BuschThe company plans to release all the ads early but the timing is still to be determined.

Other Super Bowl advertisers include Pepsi and Frito-Lay, Kia, Dove, Nationwide, Snickers, GoDaddy and others.