Every year I count the number of animals used in the most expensive commercials in the world – the Super Bowl XLVII. The repeated lesson that we learn is that animals — from insects to mammals to animations — are what the leading marketers in the world bet their 2 million for half a minute on.
Animal mascots rule much of marketing and advertising. This is a lesson that many independent businesses ignore. So this year instead of making my case for animal icons – animals and animations dominated again in a wide margin in SuperBowl XLVII as always, yes, even the Ravens prevailed – instead, I want to go look at just one commercial produced by the number one company in an ultra-competitive industry for football fans: beer. The brand is Budweiser.
The Heavy Lifting
This year the Budweiser commercial again featured their permanent branding icon, the visually outstanding breed of horse, the Clydesdale. The Clydesdale is a unique breed. It is large (up to 2,200 pounds) and powerful in stature. Bright white – attention getting — in color. Regal in stature. Yet they are not the swift winners of grand races. You will never see a Clydesdale in the winners’ circle. They are farm workhorses. They are good at pulling loads. Clydesdales do the heavy lifting.
Most of us work. About 9 out of 10 of us have jobs or work to do. From stock-clerk to parents to CEOs, who among us does not think that we do the heavy lifting?
Animal Love – Nonsensical but Real
Now any animal can be a branding icon. Why? We are taught to love animals from the day we are born. Children love Curious George. Though in reality he might rip your face off. Teddy bears are famous for being lovable although in reality, bears have been known to eat people. I didn’t say this made sense. The love of a house pet is so great it will actually make you live longer. If there is one thing you can depend on, it is that your customers love animals.
And animal icons are great for business. They sell 24/7, never ask for a raise or even a salary, are never exposed in a scandal, can tell your story without cloying self interest, will grab the attention and maybe even the love of your customers.
The Danger of Being Perceived as Silly
Why don’t all companies use mascots? The main reason — they don’t want to appear silly. Theirs is a serious business. Here’s some pushback on serious businesses. I think the most serious business is when you hand over your hard earned money for someone to manage. The bulls and the bears, right? Financial brands are rife with lions, the stags, deer, antelope, bears, dogs (many varieties including Snoopy the beagle), stallion, eagle.
Back to the Super Bowl.
Bud is their marketing to a grand work horse. The Superbowl commercial may be viewed as syrupy and silly to some. (If you didn’t see it watch it below). It is a simple love story encapsulated in one minute. Synopsis: The rancher helps give birth to the Clydesdale. He nurtures, teaches, plays and races with it. Then comes a day when the Bud horse truck pulls up to the ranch and the horse goes on to become one of the Budweiser Clydesdale icons. Three years later the rancher sees that the Clydesdales are coming to his town. He decides to drive to the parade. Tucked in the middle of the crowd the rancher sees his horse go by as one of the leaders but he has blinders on. But when the parade ends you see the Clydesdale spot the rancher walking away in the crowd. As the rancher is about to pull away in his pickup he hears something coming and looks in this rear view mirror. The horse has broken free and the rancher and the Clydesdale are reunited. A friend texted me that this commercial, in fact all the Super Bowl commercials, were horrible. Maybe so.
Emotional Button
But this commercial hit the emotional button with me…in the same way the Dodge “farmers” commercial did. And as a brander, I saw Budweiser, again, tapping into the humor, love, and surprises that most of us see in the animal kingdom and tying it to their crowd of hardworking Americans and ultimately to their brand. Are they as American as Mom and apple pie. No. They sell beer. Do they blunder around as unwieldy corporations tend to do. Yes. But did they build their brand without images of cheerleaders and partying? Did they stand out?
You could say that sex is what stood out and caught the attention of the public this year as BMW and GoDaddy.com went for it. Sex is a proven seller. Budweiser ran the risk of being silly, hitched up again to their classic animal icon to do the heavy lifting. Who did you think best hit the mark for their crowd, and built their brand?
Brand well and prosper!
Andy Cleary