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Put them all on a CD and I’d buy one. That’s the kind of reaction the Budweiser “Puppy Love” Super Bowl ad pulls out of you—and it’s not because it shouts the loudest. It’s because it barely raises its voice at all. Instead of cramming a product down your throat, it simply lets you watch a puppy and a Clydesdale build a quiet, honest bond.

TWO HEARTBEATS, ONE SOUL: THE MOMENT BUDWEISER DEFINED LOYALTY!

The Best Super Bowl Ads Ever (No 4): How Budweiser’s ‘Puppy Love’ turned emotion into gold

As The Drum continues its countdown of the Best Super Bowl Ads Ever, Budweiser’s iconic ad stands as one of the clearest examples of how storytelling, rather than spectacle, can define the Big Game.

When Budweiser aired ‘Puppy Love’ during the 2014 Super Bowl, it didn’t rely on spectacle, celebrity cameos or high-concept humor. Instead, it leaned into emotional storytelling and the result was one of the most talked-about and widely loved Big Game commercials, reinforcing Budweiser’s long-standing approach of heart-led brand storytelling.

May be an image of dog and horse

Today, it has been named fourth in a list of the Best Super Bowl Ads Ever, ranked by readers of The Drum.

The ad tells a simple story of a spirited puppy adopted from a farm where it formed a bond with a Budweiser Clydesdale. Despite being taken to a new home, the puppy keeps escaping and returning to the horse. In the climactic moment, the Clydesdales block the road to stop the puppy from being taken away again, reuniting the pair for good. The narrative lands squarely on themes of loyalty, friendship and home.

Created by agency Anomaly, the spot is built on Budweiser’s legacy of using its iconic Clydesdales as emotional brand anchors. But by introducing the puppy, the brand broadened its emotional reach, tapping into viewers’ instinctive connection to animals.

Budweiser Unveils Super Bowl Commercial “Puppy Love”

The campaign also demonstrated the growing importance of digital-first momentum. Budweiser released ‘Puppy Love’ on YouTube a week before the game, where it amassed roughly 35m views before kick-off. This mirrored the evolving Super Bowl marketing playbook to build anticipation early, dominate social sharing, then use the broadcast moment as the cultural peak.

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Budweiser just gets it right every single time. No beer bottles clinking. No crowded bar. No loud music or people yelling. And somehow, they still made more noise than anyone else. While other brands went big and flashy, Budweiser slowed everything down. They gave us a quiet moment—a tiny puppy and a giant Clydesdale horse—and let the story do the talking. On paper, it sounds crazy for a beer commercial. But on screen, it hit straight to the heart. No hard sell. No big slogan. Just loyalty, friendship, and that simple, old-school American feeling. They didn’t try to make you want a drink. They made you feel something. And that’s why people still remember it.
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