Budweiser has unveiled a heart wrenching Super Bowl ad that spotlights Anheuser-Busch’s emergency water program, a disaster relief effort the company has led for the last 30 years.
The ad admittedly evokes an emotional response—there were some real disasters last year, and Anheuser-Busch really did halt brewing beer to help in disaster relief efforts—but it of course comes with a slice of cheesiness, as one might expect from a Super Bowl commercial that shows something other than a dad getting hit in the nuts for some Doritos or a new BMW.
Setting the scene: a rendition of “Stand by Me,” specially recorded for Budweiser, croons as a man is wakes in the middle of the night, and kisses his partner goodbye. As it turns out, he’s headed to Budweiser’s Cartersville, George brewery where the brewery’s emergency water program is based.
The ad features shots of A-B employees, particularly general manager, Kevin Fahrenkrog, who A-B says has worked as an employee here for nearly 30 years.
According to A-B, the company has donated more than 79 million cans of clean drinking water through their emergency efforts over the past 30 years, including nearly 3 million cans of water last year alone, through its partnership with the American Red Cross.
A-B also announced that it will be equipping its Fort Collins, Colorado brewery for a second emergency water program location, planning to produce clean drinking water there by the end of 2018.
Budweiser’s Super Bowl LII commercial was led by ad agency, DAVID, based in Miami.
