Man, the 80s haven't aged very well.
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By Peter Hartlaub, msnbc.com contributor
Spuds MacKenzie would be 25 years old this year.
That?s 175 in dog years, but the blink of an eye for Anheuser-Busch InBev, which has kept the same go-for-broke Super Bowl advertising strategy since well before the original party animal became a national sensation.
While other corporations wring their hands over the decision to pay an average of $3.5 million for?30 seconds of Super Bowl ad time in a down economy, The King of Beers continues to spend. Anheuser-Busch has committed to 4 minutes, 30 seconds in advertising for this year?s game, a minute more than 2010.
The extra push will help promote Bud Light Platinum, a?higher-alcohol beverage that is the brewer?s first new beer for the mass market since Bud Light Golden Wheat in 2009.
Below are our picks for the best commercials from Budweiser and Bud Light?of all time.
"Spuds MacKenzie," 1987
?He?s Spuds MacKenzie, Bud Light?s original party animal!? And with those words from Robin Leach, a merchandising juggernaut was born. Spuds was a bull terrier who wore trendy clothes, partied with the ladies and (never on camera) drank Bud Light.
The buzz: Trendsetting, sexy. The commercials were filled with dancing girls, good-time parties and timely stunts:?Spuds pole-vaulted in one ad before the summer Olympics.
Aftertaste: Spuds was still going strong in 1992, when Mothers Against Drunk Driving accused Anheuser-Busch of marketing the ads to children. Eve so, two daceds later you?can purchase close to 500 Spuds MacKenzie items on eBay.
Trivia: The real Spuds MacKenzie, named Honey Tree Evil Eye, died in 1993 of natural causes.
"Magic Fridge," 2006
A football fan impresses his roommate by installing a rotating wall that can hide the refrigerator and replace it with a table and chairs, so friends won?t drink all his Bud Light. On the other side of the wall, fans worship the return of the ?Magic Fridge? to their apartment.
The buzz: Humor. More than one fan poll rated this commercial the best in an otherwise lackluster year.
Aftertaste: There was no sequel, but the advertisement appeared to spark several refrigerator-themed beer commercials, including a Heineken ad featuring a man whose friends squeal with joy after getting a tour of his walk-in fridge.
"Axe Murderer," 2007
A young man and woman slow down as they approach a scraggly-looking guy with an axe on a dark road. Their conversation: ?Should we pick him up? He has Bud Light.? ? ?But he has an ax!? ? ?But he has Bud Light!? Man, woman and ax guy are later in the car when they come across a masked man with a chainsaw holding Bud Light.
The buzz: Humor. After playing it safe with a conservative approach in the wake of Janet Jackson?s exposed breast during a 2004 halftime show, Budweiser?s darker vibe was a hit with fans.
Aftertaste: Despite two ?Friday the 13th? movies and a reboot of ?The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? since 2007, there has been no sequel to this popular commercial. ?
"Separated at Birth," 1999
When a firehouse picks one Dalmatian puppy over another, the chosen dog sticks its tongue out at the apparent loser. Years later,? the dogs cross paths again. The firehouse dog is jealous of his litter mate?s even better job ? as a Budweiser Dalmatian riding with a team of Clydesdales.
The buzz: Humor, cuteness. After years of party dogs and smart-mouthed frogs, this was an ad clearly intended to appeal to women.
Aftertaste: The Dalmatians were a big hit, and have made at least four more appearances over the past 10 years.
?Wassup,? 2000
Based on a short film by Charles Stone III, four friends manage to communicate on a four-way phone call mostly by using one word: ?Wassup??
The buzz: Humor, trendsetting. If you were a male between the ages of 15 and 40, you answered the phone with a ?Wassup!? for at least the next three weeks. Possibly much longer. (Editor?s note: Some of us still do.)
Aftertaste: The beer company milked this campaign until we couldn?t stand it any more, then milked it a little bit more. Versions with parrots and yuppies and a wasabi theme were included. Stone and cast returned in 2008 with a pro-Barack Obama version.?
Trivia: Stone brokered his ?Wassup!? success into a directing job for the Bernie Mac movie ?Mr. 3000.?
"Applause," 2005
In a salute to U.S. soldiers, the camera follows airport patrons breaking into a building applause. The ad reveals that the support is for a weary group of military personnel, presumably returning from overseas. The ad ends with the words ?Thank You.?
The buzz: Emotions. No Budweiser beer or beer signs appear in the one-minute ad ? just a short glimpse of the Anheuser-Busch logo over a black screen at the end.
Aftertaste: The ?Applause? ad was a critical favorite, running only twice in 2005 ? at the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 ? before the beermaker brought it back as part of a United Service Organizations partnership in 2008.?
?Replay,? 2003
A year after a commercial where Clydesdales played football on an open plain, two teams of horses wait while a zebra keeps rewinding footage in an instant replay booth. A rancher says: ?This referee?s a jackass.? His friend responds: ?I believe that?s a zebra.?
The buzz: Humor, timeliness. The ad played off recent rules changes in the NFL, which expanded coaches? ability to call for instant replays ? leading to delays that frustrated fans.
Aftertaste: The Budweiser zebra didn?t have the marketing success of the Dalmatians, frogs or Spuds, but the ad continues to show up on all-time-best lists.
?Bud Bowl,? 1989
Budweiser used stop-motion animation to stage a bowl game between anthropomorphic bottles of Budweiser and Bud Light. High jinks ensued before Budweiser won 27-24.
The buzz: Humor, special effects. In the years before movies such as ?Terminator 2? and ?Jurassic Park? pioneered digital effects, the animation in this commercial was considered pretty amazing. And if the real Super Bowl was sometimes a blowout,?the Bud Bowl was always a close game.
Aftertaste: The Bud Bowl was played eight times, with?diminishing success. Guests over the years included Joe Namath and Corbin Bernsen.
Trivia: Sadly, Don Meredith?s commentary for Bud Bowl III in 1991 was his final job as a football broadcaster during the Super Bowl.
?Frogs,? 1995
Three frogs sitting on a log croak the words ?Bud,? ?weis? and ?er.? At the end of a commercial a neon Budweiser sign can be seen hanging over a bar at the edge of the swamp.
The buzz: Humor, trendsetting. Budweiser delivers another earworm. After one of the most one-sided Super Bowls in history (49ers 49, Chargers 26), more people seemed to be talking about the frogs the next day than the game.
Aftertaste: The frogs were a huge hit, followed by talking chameleons Frank and Louie who talk about killing the frogs, and then a ferret. The storyline continued into the 2000s.
Trivia: ?Pirates of the Caribbean? and ?Rango? director Gore Verbinski was behind the camera for this ad.
?Respect,? 2002
Clydesdales are shown getting in harnesses, and then pulling a wagon slowly across a snowy landscape. They stop with New York City in the distance and kneel in the direction of the empty space where the World Trade Center once stood.
The buzz: Emotions. The commercial ran just a few months after the Sept. 11 attacks. There was no voice-over or narration, just images and the Budweiser logo at the end.
Aftertaste: Budweiser chose to run the spot only one time, to deflect criticism they were trying to profit off?the national tragedy. The ad is popular on YouTube and often listed among the best Super Bowl ads of all time.
What is your favorite? Discuss on our Facebook page.?
Peter Hartlaub is the pop culture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.
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