The success of the puppy gained the puppy its very own Twitter page. According to Marketingland.com writer, Danny Sullivan, "He’s the star of Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad, the #BestBuds puppy that keeps running back to be with the famous Clydesdale horses. Not content with YouTube fame, the puppy started tweeting through Budweiser’s account. He’s now been housebroken to his own Budweiser Puppy account." If you click the link in this article, you will also see where the puppy has typed a few of its own tweets!
The puppy commercial not only won the hearts of die hard football fans, but also the hearts of Americans. Maura Judkis, writer for the The Washington Post, stated, "The Puppy Bowl is usually the cutest thing to watch on Super Bowl Sunday, but this year, a Budweiser commercial may have taken that honor. Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” commercial, about a puppy and a Clydesdale who have an unbreakable bond, has gone viral in the days leading up to the big game, with 23 million YouTube views as of Friday morning. According to Viral Video Chart, it is the most shared Super Bowl ad of the year so far." Once again, Budweiser knew that animals always hold a special place in people's hearts. They knew this because all viewers loved seeing the Clydesdale horses, so Budweiser knew the puppy would be an instant success. The puppy commercial was actually a real winner too according to the USA TODAY's Ad Meter. The Budweiser puppy commercial topped the list at No. 1 just as critics had expected. The "Puppy Love" commercial was actually a sequel to last year's, "Brotherhood" commercial. Businessinsider.com says, "The actor Don Jeanes returns to his role as the head of Warm Springs Ranch in Missouri, where the beer company raises its iconic Clydesdale horses. Actress (and former swimsuit model) Melissa Keller is introduced as the owner of a puppy adoption center next door. A wily little Labrador Retriever manages to keep escaping to the horse farm to see his best bud, a Clydesdale. Eventually, a man arrives to buy the 10-month-old pup. He's wearing sunglasses and is on his smartphone when the beautiful manager of the puppy center tries to hand over the dog. See what happens when this city slicker tries taking our hero away from his special friend, and the song "Let Her Go" by Passenger starts getting you misty-eyed." The success of the commercial was not effortless because actor Don Jeanes was told he couldn't pet the puppies while he was on set. Can you even imagine what torture that would be? Don Jeanes told the LAtimes.com, "There were all these puppies on the shoot, and we received special instructions on the call sheet that said: 'Don't pet the puppies! "I could hardly stand it." However, the puppies had to maintain focus to create the No. 1 Superbowl commercial this year.
Here is a screencast about what Budweiser is doing: This particular screencast is a quick overview of Budweiser's website along with specific detail on the Budweiser puppy commercial and how Budweiser is very up-to-date with their social media skills.
Well, next year Budweiser has some stepping up to do if they want to top this successful commercial. Maybe there will be another "Puppy Love" commercial or a Part 3 to the first two commercials that have aired the past two Superbowls. If Budweiser keeps using social media like they have been over the years, then they will triumph again with commercials. Also, it played to their advantage that the commercial was leaked a few days before the Superbowl because that deemed the commercial to be No.1! Regardless, Budweiser will not disappoint and Superbowl fans are looking forward to 2015 commercials!
