In 2026, Americans want nostalgic tracks from the ’80s and ’90s, cute animals, and Americana on the farm.
Budweiser knows how to hit Super Bowl viewers in the feels, ranking first on the USA Today Ad Meter for the second year running with its 60-second spot, “American Icons.”
Last year, the beer brand’s popular Super Bowl ad, “First Delivery,” topped the USA Today Ad Meter with the story of a young Clydesdale eager to get to work delivering beer. In the 90-second spot, the foal is told by a farmer that he’s still too young to ride with the rest of the team. But when a keg falls off the horse-drawn beer wagon, the horse takes it upon itself to make sure it gets delivered.
This year, the brand repeated its USA Today Ad Meter victory. Again casting a Clydesdale foal as one of the main stars in its 60-second ad, Budweiser upped the ante by pairing the young horse with a baby bird. And not just any baby bird—a bald eagle, an animal steeped in American symbolism.
The cross-species friendship blossoms as the foal protects the baby bird from the rain, and then helps the awkward, fuzzy eagle learn to fly by carrying the bird on its back as it gains wingspan and adult feathers.
Set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, the backlit bald eagle takes flight as the Clydesdale leaps over a log—a dramatic, golden hour tribute to American patriotism. The spot ends with two farmers clad in working overalls and baseball caps observing the animals over a beer from their front porch. When one asks the other if he’s crying, he stubbornly claims that it’s just the sun in his eyes.
While ADWEEK’s review argued that the spot was a little too on-the-nose Americana, Americans disagreed, based on the Ad Meter results. Budweiser’s “American Icons,” as the spot is called, created by BBDO New York, earned the highest average score of any national ad that ran during Super Bowl 60.
The second-ranked ad, Lay’s “Last Harvest,” stayed within the same thematic realm as Budweiser. The spot stars an older potato farmer making the decision to retire, passing the farm onto his daughter.
The tear-jerker, one of few emotional spots that aired during Super Bowl 60, brought the same Americana farm vibes as Budweiser, but swapped out the animal friendship for a father-daughter relationship, hitting Americans in the feels once again.
