• by Erik Oster , March 13, 2024

While Budweiser has consistently trotted out its prized Clydesdales for its big marketing moments, audiences are less familiar with the team behind the horses.

In the latest phase of the “That’s Who We Are” campaign it rolled out last year, Budweiser turns the focus to the expansive team responsible for the prized equines, who made their 46th Super Bowl appearance in “Old School Delivery.”

A new “Turning Moments Into Memories' digital ad goes behind the scenes at Warm Springs Ranch to show what went into bringing the “Old School Delivery” to life. The ad turns the spotlight on the team of over 60 employees responsible for the horses -- including handlers overseeing their care, trainers, and one guy who says, “I shoe ‘em.”

The new ad comes about six months after the last installment in the “That’s Who We Are” campaign, “We Can’t Predict, We Can Prepare,” which focused on the team behind Budweiser’s emergency drinking water program.

“Our ‘That's Who We Are’ campaign is all about showcasing the heart of Anheuser-Busch, and the Budweiser Clydesdales have been exactly that for the last nine decades,” Anheuser-Busch U.S. Chief External Affairs Officer Cesar Vargas said in a statement.

Budweiser will be trotting out its Clydesdales in the months ahead, including on its tour with longtime partner Folds of Honor -- a nonprofit supporting families of veterans and first responders who were killed or disabled. On the tour, the Clydesdales will appear at air shows, fleet weeks, military events, sporting events, and state fairs.

The Clydesdales clearly are an important part of the brand’s strategy in the U.S. as parent company AB InBev attempts to regain lost market share in North America.

Comments made by ABInBev CEO Michel Doukeris about how the company responded to setbacks in the U.S. on a recent earnings call demonstrate how “That’s Who We Are” seems to function as both an external-facing tagline, and something of a business and marketing mantra internally.

“We purchase annually more than $700 million in quality ingredients from U.S. farmers. We produced packets and delivered clean drinking water when disasters struck, more than 93 million cans to date. We create jobs. Together with our wholesaler partners, we employ 65,000 hard-working people across the U.S.,” he said, adding that 99% of the beer it sells in the U.S. is made domestically.

“And we do this because that's who we are,” he added. “As we move forward, we continue to focus on what we do best: brewing great beer for everyone, actively engaging with our consumers, supporting our partners, and impacting the communities we serve.”