America can’t resist cute dogs.
So it’s no surprise that “Puppy Love,” a Budweiser commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, is champion of the Ad Meter 30th Anniversary Bracket, presented by Kia.
The winner of the contest was revealed at an event Wednesday night at USA TODAY’s New York offices.
To celebrate three decades of Ad Meter, USA TODAY assembled a week-and-a-half long NCAA tournament-style bracket pitting all the winners of the annual competition against each other. In the final round, the “awww”-inducing spot defeated another Bud ad featuring animals: “Horse and Trainer Reunited.” The 2013 ad centers on the bond between one of the brand’s famous Clydesdale horses and its trainer.
Scored to the song Let Her Go by Passenger, “Puppy Love” focuses on a golden Labrador puppy’s friendship with a Clydesdale. The relationship between the two four-legged buddies also ends up bringing their owners together.
"The genesis of the spot was observing a genuinely friendly (exchange) between a Clydesdale and a puppy on one of our Clydesdale breeding ranches," Budweiser Vice President Brian Perkins told USA TODAY in 2014.
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Ad agency Anomaly enlisted a total of 17 Clydesdales and eight Lab puppies for the filming of the commercial, which became a viral hit. The spot was directed by Jake Scott, the son of Alien and Blade Runner director Ridley Scott, who helmed Apple’s iconic “1984” ad.
“Puppy Love” was one of 14 Anheuser-Busch ads in the 30th Anniversary Bracket. No company has won Ad Meter more times.
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