Budweiser’s ‘Brotherhood’ wins best Super Bowl commercial
Running into Callcott Auditorium on Thursday night to “2001,” Cocky presented an award of his likeness to Mark Sarosi, the art director behind the Budweiser “Brotherhood” advertisement.
The Cocky Award, voted on annually by members of Professor Bonnie Drewniany’s “Super Bowl of Advertising” class, is presented to the best Super Bowl commercial each year. This is the sixth time an Anheuser-Busch commercial has won the award, but it is a first for Anomaly, the advertisement company behind the project.
Representing the creative team that produced the ad, Sarosi explained the significance of the project and his belief in luck.
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” Sarosi said, stressing the role good fortune played in bringing his idea to fruition.
His partner on the project, copywriter Johnny Dantonio, was unable to make the trip due to flight complications.
“He’s really bummed he couldn’t be here. His dad played football for USC and I know he wanted to see the campus,” Sarosi said.
In his presentation, Sarosi highlighted the difficulties the project faced from the beginning and the pressure of creating an ad for the Super Bowl.
“Usually, for a Super Bowl ad, there’s a year-long process where you develop a strategic concept and revise it until it’s worth the $7 million for a 60-second spot,” Sarosi said. “It’s a big effing deal. We only had about a month to produce ‘Brotherhood.’”
The advertisement deviates from typical Super Bowl humor in favor of an emotion-driven plot.
Telling the story of a rancher and a Clydesdale destined to pull the Budweiser cart, the commercial contains themes of growing up and establishing lifelong friendships.
As the ad ended, with the rancher and horse reuniting after spending three years apart, members of the audience were seen subtly wiping away tears and pointing fingers at each other.
“How many of you are crying now?” Sarosi asked with a laugh. “I’ve become pretty numb to it after watching it a few million times.”
After his presentation, Sarosi spoke more generally about the global company he works for, Anomaly. Explaining how it stands apart from other agencies — both in pricing rates and approaches to advertisements — he displayed short clips of other commercials Anomaly had produced to the audience.
As for the significance of winning the Cocky Award, Sarosi said it confirmed “that you’re really communicating with the audience on a personal level.”
“It’s a beer ad, and college kids were voting. But no, I think it’s because it was an emotional story that everyone can connect to in some way,” Sarosi said.