DRAFT Magazine

Before the Super Bowl — and sometimes during the game, if it’s a yawner — the biggest news often involves advertising. And why not? At roughly $2.8 million for a 30-second spot this year, Super Bowl commercials are easily the priciest on television.

For decades Anheuser-Busch — which claims category exclusivity for alcoholic beverages during the telecast until 2012, regardless of which network broadcasts the game — has spent more than $100 million promoting its brands during the Super Bowl. Many times, the famous Budweiser Clydesdales have entertained viewers in spots.

But maybe not this year. For Super Bowl XVIV,  reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday, A-B will run nine ads and none will feature the horses. Though the firm ”remains a big spender on Super Bowl ads, buying up five precious, pricey ad minutes” during the game, the Clydesdales “for the first time in at least eight Super Bowls” will be absent. It’s reported the ads will focus on humor, and none of the horses can tell a joke like, say, departed Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien.

Believe it or not, the initial decision not to use the horses came down to focus-group testing. A Clydesdale spot was produced, according to A-B InBev VP/Marketing Keith Levy, but it sounds like consumers weren’t impressed.

But then A-B seemed to change heart after the news was announced. The company is releasing a Clydesdale ad today on its Facebook page to gauge reaction and perhaps it might be used in the big game . Stay tuned.