Sunday, February 01, 2009

Scotch Bottom Toe Grabs? Budweiser Clydesdale Ads Go to Great Lengths to Lead the Pack of Commercials for 2009 Super Bowl

by Fran Jurga | 1 February 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog/Hoofcare & Lameness Journal

It looks like the racing segment of the new Budweiser Clydesdale ad was filmed on Polytrack or ProRide or some sort of artificial surface, perhaps at Del Mar or Santa Anita racetracks in California. For years, they pulled the starting gate off and onto the track for each race at Santa Anita.

As promised, here are some special clips from Budweiser, showing just a few highlights of the three or possibly four Budweiser Clydesdales ads aired on tonight's Super Bowl. I've seen two of them so far, in the first half of the game.

Here's a clip from the "generations" commercial, honoring the 75th Anniversary of the Budweiser Clydesdales. It was filmed partly right on the streets of New York City. The narrator sounds like my friend James Ferrie, who shoes Clydesdales in Ayr, Scotland. Could it be?



And how about that lovestruck Clydesdale? How on earth, though, did they film that Clydesdale jumping over the canyon! That Clyde really had good form! And what a Hollywood ending!



And don't forget the Dalmatian:



Did you ever wonder how the commercials are made? Here's a video clip that goes behind the scenes for the racetrack segments, and you'll meet director Joe Pytka:


These commercials are the highlights of the Super Bowl each year for many people, thanks to our friends, human and equine, at

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