WASHINGTON — For those without a rooting interest in the game, the Super Bowl was all about the halftime show and ads. But this year's commercials left some people yearning for the Budweiser Clydesdales.
"I have counted on three things throughout my life and that is death, taxes, and the Budweiser Clydesdales Super Bowl commercial this is a national crisis," one Twitter user wrote.
"You NEVER Showed the BUDWEISER Clydesdales Commercial on FOX !! What Happened," another Tweeted directly at FOX, which was airing Sunday's game.
"I know there’s a game, but where are the Budweiser Clydesdales??" another exclaimed on Twitter.
For the record, the Clydesdales were in Budweiser's 2023 Super Bowl ad, but it was a blink-and-you-miss-it type appearance.
This year's ad started out with a brief clip of the iconic horses, before pivoting away to the rest of the commercial's "Six Degrees of Bud" concept featuring actor Kevin Bacon and St. Louis music producer Metro Boomin
Another major reason Super Bowl viewers may have missed the ad completely is that it didn't air on TV everywhere. Instead, Anheuser-Busch, the beer brand's parent company, chose to run the Budweiser spot in select regions such as New York, Philadelphia and California.
The company decided to focus specifically on 14 regional markets where they aimed to reach a younger audience, according to Variety.
A wide variety of alcohol brands were in the Super Bowl ad lineup this year, after Anheuser-Busch ended its exclusive advertising sponsorship after more than 30 years. The St. Louis, Missouri beverage giant was still the largest alcohol advertiser during the game, with three minutes of national airtime in addition to the regional Budweiser spot.