Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser clydesdales may be sitting out Super Bowl Sunday, but Boston Beer Company is bringing its own horses to game day.
The maker of the Samuel Adams beer brand today revealed its regional Super Bowl ad for the rebranded and reformulated Wicked Hazy IPA (formerly known as New England IPA) featuring the “Your Cousin From Boston” character. The ad will be broadcast in the Boston and New York markets during the game.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Boston Beer is spending $770,000 for the ads, well below CBS’ $5.6 million asking price for a 30-second spot, and $2.5 million overall for the campaign.
The ad is a bit of misdirection, leading viewers to believe they’re seeing a Budweiser ad and then chaos breaks out when the Bostonian cousin removes the pin securing the horses’ reins to the cart behind them and sets them free.
The ad, called “Your Cousin From Boston Frees the Clydesdales,” was created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
“We couldn’t think of a bolder way to launch our big bet for 2021 than an ad for the big game,” Boston Beer Company CMO Lesya Lysyj said in a press release. “We’re excited about our new Wicked range of beers from Samuel Adams developed and launched with the rebellious spirit that’s in our DNA, in the name of good fun and good beer.”
Anheuser-Busch InBev, which maintains exclusivity over beer advertising during the national broadcast of the game, announced its Super Bowl advertising plans on Monday, including a non-commercial commercial explaining why the Budweiser brand wouldn’t be featured during the February 7 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time since 1983. A-B will instead reallocate funding for the ad to the Ad Council’s COVID-19 vaccine awareness campaign.