Budweiser's Super Bowl Ad Tells an Immigration Story

[DonViejo]

In advance of this weekend’s Super Bowl, Budweiser has released its ad, “Born the Hard Way” that tells the story of the company’s origin. The ad is topical- it takes place in 1857 and shows Adolphus Busch immigrating to the United States from Germany. The journey isn’t easy. He has to abandon ship due to a boat fire, but he survives, and eventually reaches land.

When he first arrives, people say to him “You are not wanted here. Go back home.” He keeps going.

The ad ends with Busch in a bar, sitting next to Eberhard Anheuser. The two meet, and the rest is history. While the story seems timely today, Anheuser-Busch InBev executives told Ad Age that they were not trying to make a political statement with the commercial. “This commercial shows the start of Budweiser’s journey, and while it is set in the 1800’s, it’s a story we believe will resonate with today’s entrepreneurial generation — those who continue strive for their dreams,” Ricardo Marques, a Vice President at Anheuser-Busch said in a press release.

Good news: The Clydesdales haven’t been forgotten. Blink and you might miss them, but they’re there.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/budweisers-super-bowl-ad-tells-an-immigration-story/

[elleng]

1. How TIMELY!

[texasfiddler]

2. This will go over the head of most of the deplorables

Most won't even recognize the irony of this Ad with today's situation. The others will claim "well at least he was legal" and not realize that the people stranded at the airports were legal to be here as well. I just hope the people who normally don't get out to vote will start to wake up. We need our Congress back.

[melm00se]

3. Some information on Adolphus Busch

- one of 22(!) children (21 of them apparently boys).
- (and true to his upbringing) father of 13.
- came from a wealthy family.
- college educated.
- served in the Union Army for 14 months during the Civil War.
- leveraged his inheritance to start his beer empire.
- estimated wealth at time of death ~$60 million and $2 million a year in income
- bequeathed $350,000 to Harvard

not sure how much of the ad is dramatic license or not nor if this was intentional or serendipitous.