Budweiser Unveils Its Super Bowl LX Commercial, and Yes, THERE IS A CLYDESDALE FOAL

A Clydesdale foal, a “baby bird,” and a whole lot of patriotic feelings. Watch Budweiser’s Super Bowl LX commercial here and tell us you didn’t see it coming (and still feel something anyway).

Somewhere in a marketing boardroom, someone had a clipboard. And on that clipboard was a very specific checklist titled “How to Make the Internet Feel Feelings During the Super Bowl.”

With the unveiling of its Super Bowl LX commercial, Budweiser proceeds to check off every single box with the confidence of a brand that knows exactly what it’s doing and what its audience wants (and isn’t pretending otherwise).

Let’s review.

Clydesdale foal?
Check.

Baby bird?
Check.

Menacing weather threatening the safety of said baby bird?
Check.

Foal caring for baby bird and “teaching it to fly” with bareback rides?
Also check.

Bird learns to fly and, of course, it appears the now-matured Clydesdale has wings. Because who doesn’t love a throwback to the TriStar pegasus? Or any pegasus, really.

At this point, horse people everywhere are already leaning closer to the screen. Because if there’s one thing Budweiser has taught us over the years, it’s that when the Clydesdales show up, emotions are about to be professionally manipulated (and, let’s be clear, we’re sort of here for it).

And then, because subtlety has never been the goal, it pivots.

Surprise! That vulnerable little bird we’ve been worrying about?
Bald eagle.

Of course it is. Heck, the commercial’s title is ‘American Icons.’

Cue the swelling music. Cue the slow-motion moments. Cue the collective, slightly embarrassed acknowledgment that yes, we see what’s happening here… and no, we are not immune.

Budweiser doesn’t just pull at the heartstrings; it yanks them with a workhorse’s determination. Foal innocence. Animal friendship. Harsh weather. Patriotic symbolism. American iconography stacked neatly on top of a centuries-old draft horse breed that has become inseparable from Super Bowl tradition itself.

And look, none of this is accidental. We know that. They know that. Everyone watching knows that.

But here’s the thing.

We’re not mad about it.

Any Budweiser commercial featuring the beloved Clydesdales has a way of making even the most brand-skeptical horse people pause and think, “Well… maybe I’d try the King of Beers.”

Maybe.

It’s the same effect every year there are Clydesdales in the Budweiser commercial. The horses are steady, calm, noble. The foals are impossibly earnest. The message is heavy-handed but comforting, like a familiar blanket you don’t mind being wrapped in. It’s not trying to be edgy. It’s not reinventing anything. It’s leaning all the way into tradition, and doing it well.

For horse folks especially, the Clydesdales remain the quiet stars of Super Bowl advertising. They don’t shout. They just show up, do their job, and carry the weight of the story with the kind of presence that only big horses can.

So yes, Budweiser checked every box.
Yes, it was predictable.
Yes, we rolled our eyes a little.

And yes… we watched it all the way through. Twice (okay, maybe three times…).

Because when the Clydesdales walk on screen, we’re already in.

Watch the full commercial here: