As we mark another year since the September 11th terrorist attacks, we look back at one of the most memorable and moving tributes over the years.
Budweiser knew they wanted to pay tribute to the victims of the attack and worked with Congress and Mayor Rudy Giuliani to find a way to film a tribute to honor those who had lost their lives.
The ad, “Clydesdale Respect,” aired only once Feb. 3, 2002 during Super Bowl XXXVI and featured the horses bowing in the direction of New York City.
“As you have heard, this commercial aired only once,” Budweiser officials told Snopes in 2007. “However, we continue to be overwhelmed by the positive response. Anheuser-Busch is proud to be an American beer company and we wanted to express ourselves in respectfully honoring those affected by the events of September 11th We are pleased that the Budweiser Clydesdales were able to deliver our sentiments in a way that has resonated with many Americans.”
“We had a helicopter going over the Brooklyn Bridge,” Bob Lachky, a former Budweiser advertising executive told KTVI. “Mayor Giuliani let us into the city – the only film company of any sort right after 9-11. To actually come into air space with our helicopter to film the Clydesdales ... the hitch coming into Battery Park and it was amazing... just amazing.”
Budweiser aired an edited version of the ad in 2011.