Deconstructing: Budweiser: Lost Dog

     The video advertisement Budweiser: Lost Dog (Budweiser, 2015) was deconstructed.  This advertisement was selected because it was originally aired during the 2015 Super Bowl which meant a large audience was captured.  Generally, companies pay large sums of money to air their advertisement during prime Super Bowl time.  In the year twenty fifteen air time was $4.5 million dollars for 30 seconds of commercial time.  Budweiser spent $9 million dollars to air the 1.01 minute commercial (Herbert, 2015).  The commercial features a white, working class man wearing jeans, flannel shirt and a corduroy jacket, the perfect image of the American working class, a yellow Labrador retriever puppy and of course the Clydesdale horses.  The Clydesdale horse images represent Budweiser beer.  The advertisement begins with the puppy getting lost, separated from his “best buds”, the Clydesdale horses and his owner.  Through many tragic experiences the puppy finds his way home, but before crossing the field encounters a vicious wolf.  The Clydesdale horses break free of their stales and save the puppy.  The scene ends with the man, his puppy and the Clydesdale horse sitting in the barn with the man drinking a Budweiser beer.  Then the scene flashes to a large red banner with large bold white text displaying the words:

Budweiser

#Best Buds

Enjoy Responsibly

ã2015 Amheuser Busch Budweiser @Beer.  St. Louis, MO

     The interesting component of this advertisement is that the character never says a word.  It’s like a silent movie.  The camera zooms in on the face of the man that shows sorrow for the loss of the puppy, the horse’s fight to leave the barn and find the puppy, the fight within the puppy when confronted with the wolf.  The colors of the advertisement are neutral except for the red hat with the product logo and then the final banner at the end.  The advertisement appeals to man’s sense of fight, loyalty to friends and the desire to celebrate after adversity.  After viewing it, I was left with a desire to grab a beer and celebrate the reuniting of man and his best friend (the puppy).

   The assignment has helped me to understand that we cannot let the emotions generated from viewing media dictate the actions we take.  We must consider the reasons for the advertisement and the consequences if we indulge in the product being advertisement.  The advertisement makes us want to be like the images shown.  We have to be aware of the techniques used to illicit the desire to consume the advertised product. 

References

Budweiser. (2015, January 28). Budweiser: Lost Dog. Retrieved from www.youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsjRRMMg_Q

Herbert, G. (2015, February 02). best_super_bowl_commercials_budweiser_lost_dog_2015_ads_winner. Retrieved from www.syracuse.com: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/best_super_bowl_commercials_budweiser_lost_dog_2015_ads_winner.html