🍺🔥 THIS WASN’T A SUPER BOWL AD — IT WAS A NATIONAL MOMENT.
Budweiser’s “American Icons” didn’t shout. It didn’t sell.
A Clydesdale foal and a bald eagle grew up side by side through storms, silence, and survival — until “Free Bird” hit and everything changed.
By the final shot, people weren’t watching a commercial anymore.
They were remembering something they thought America had lost.
Watch closely 👇👇

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Budweiser ‘Free Bird’ Super Bowl commercial: Inside 2026 ‘American Icons’ ad featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd hit

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Budweiser ‘Free Bird’ Super Bowl commercial: Inside 2026 ‘American Icons’ ad featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd hit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Budweiser commercials are a Super Bowl tradition – and there is a history of ads that evoke an emotional response.

The company’s ad for Super Bowl 60 – “American Icons” – continues that tradition in style by playing out the relationship between a Clydesdale and a bald eagle with “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd playing in the background. The commercial will run during the Super Bowl 60 matchup between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday.

Here is an inside look at “American Icons” ahead of Super Bowl 60:

Budweiser Super Bowl commercial

“American Icons” pulls at those emotional strings with the journey of a young Clydesdale foal and a bald eagle and follows a patriotic theme as the eagle learns how to fly.

As that journey progresses, the rendition of “Free Bird” speeds up, and the ending is an awesome way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Budweiser and The United States 250th anniversary on July 4.

The adult bald eagle in the ad is named Lincoln. The bird flies during the National Anthem during the Philadelphia Eagles’ home games at Lincoln Financial Field.

Inside ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Fred Bird”– a song released by the Southern Rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1973 – continues to be a popular song at sporting events. It was used prominently by Team USA in the 2025 NFL 4 Nations Face-Off. The guitar solo in “Free Bird” ranked No. 8 in a ranking by Guitar World in 2022.

When did the Budweiser Clydesdale campaign start?

Billy Busch –  founder of the Busch Family Brewing & Distilling Company – is an heir to the Anheuser-Busch legacy. He lives in St. Louis.

“My family has always been known for the great marketing campaigns they came up with and my father and his brother created the 8-horse hitch – the Clydesdale 8-horse hitch,” Busch told The Sporting News before Super Bowl 59.  “It was a present given to their father, my grandfather, August Sr, after Prohibition – in 1933.”

The Busch family then used that to create an iconic campaign well before the Super Bowl.

“They used the eight-horse hitch to take the first case of Budweiser – now that it could be sold again in the United States to the White House to give to Franklin Roosevelt for repealing Prohibition,” Busch said. “It became an incredibly popular advertising campaign, and it represented America in a lot of ways.”

“They used the eight-horse hitch to take the first case of Budweiser – now that it could be sold again in the United States to the White House to give to Franklin Roosevelt for repealing Prohibition,” Busch said. “It became an incredibly popular advertising campaign, and it represented America in a lot of ways.”

Memorable Clydesdale Super Bowl commercials

A look at some of the memorable Budweiser Super commercials that have stood out over the years:

Super Bowl 30: ‘They usually go for two’

The Clydesdales played their own football game in the Super Bowl 30 commercial.

Super Bowl 36 and 46: ‘We’ll never forget’

Budweiser paid tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, and this is recognized as one of the most-powerful Super Bowl commercials of all time. This ad ran during Super Bowl 36 and was remastered ahead of Super Bowl 46.

Super Bowl 38: ‘Born a donkey’

Billy Busch’s favorite was the “Born a Donkey” commercial. “I’ll never forget the one with the donkey who wanted to be in the eight-horse hitch. That one always tugged at heartstrings. It was a great commercial,” Busch told SN.

Super Bowl 59: ‘First delivery’

“First Delivery” followed the adventure of a young Clydesdale’s cross-country adventure to the tune of “Let Your Love Flow” by the Bellamy Brothers.