Wind powered beer the toast of Super Bowl LIII

The virtues of renewable beer will be broadcast to more than 100 million viewers this coming Super Bowl, with US label Budweiser using its million-dollar advertising spot in the Big Game to promote its commitment to sustainable, wind-powered brewing.
Adweek reports that the Anheuser-Busch owned Budweiser unveiled a 60-second version of the advertisement on Wednesday, ahead of a 45-second cut that will appear at some point during the 53rd Super Bowl, when the LA Rams take on the New England Patriots on Sunday February 3.
The ad – which you can watch below – features Budweiser’s “famous” Clydesdale horses pulling cartons of beer to the tune of Bob Dylan’s folk anthem “Blowin’ in the wind,” and against a back-drop of golden fields and Budweiser-branded wind turbines.

And while it’s just an ad, the fact that it is playing during the Super Bowl – the Mecca for advertisers in the US and abroad – is no small thing for Budweiser, nor for wind energy.
As Forbes reports, last year the Super Bowl was the most watched event in America with more than 108 million viewers.
But, the magazine points out, “the really fascinating thing is why people watched. Several studies have proven that 50 per cent of the Super Bowl audience tunes in just to watch the ads.”
And you pay for that captive audience. Forbes reports that in 2019, a 30-second spot costs around $4 million; a 60-second spot around $8 million.
Add to that the cost of producing a Super Bowl commercial – upwards of $1 million – and you are quickly in eye-watering territory.
All of suggests that Anheuser-Busch is prepared to put its money where its renewable energy credentials are.
As we have reported, the beer giant – which has an annual turnover of $46 billion – took a 100 per cent renewable energy pledge back in 2017, committing to source all of its electricity from solar and wind and other clean sources by 2025.
The clean power goals of the global brewer, which owns big names including Stella Artois and Corona, extend as far as Australia, where its local asset, Carlton & United Breweries, has all but fulfilled its own plan to be 100 per cent renewable, after it began sourcing power from the 112MW Karadoc solar farm, completed at the end of last year by German company BayWa.
In the US, Budweiser is also believed to be 100 per cent renewable energy powered.
And the brewer is also partnering with Atlanta – where the Super Bowl is being held this year – to offset the power the city uses throughout the week with renewable energy from a wind farm in Oklahoma, AdWeek reports.
“This spot not only marks the return of the Clydesdales to the Super Bowl stage, but it also brings a powerful message about our commitment to brewing with renewable electricity,” said Ricardo Marques, group vp of marketing core and value brands at Anheuser-Busch. 
“We’re committed to 100 per cent of our purchased electricity coming from renewable resources by 2025,” said the vice president of sustainability at Anheuser-Busch, Angie Slaughter.
“For us, in North America, we’re halfway there, and because of that, our Budweiser brand is already at 100 per cent in terms of the electricity that they use.
“So, it’s a great way to bring it to our consumers and teach them about what we are doing on the sustainability front,” Slaughter said.
“We know that consumers have high expectations in this area as well. They’re informed, and this commercial … gives us the ability to celebrate what we’re doing in terms of our goals but also to inform others and inspire others to do more.”