After "Bud Bowl Part 1" and "Bud Bowl Part 2" got the spectacle underway, "Part 3" finds Spuds MacKenzie making a cameo and Bud Light drawing first blood -- with every three seconds of footage taking about eight hours to assemble. The first Bud Bowl cost Anheuser-Busch $5 million in all, The New York Times later reported, including air time, production costs and everything else involved in staging a three-minute, stop-motion football game between bottles of beer.
Spuds, the Bud Light mascot seen here as a mega-rich pro football owner, made his debut in the 1987 Super Bowl ("Party Animal") but was appearing in fewer ads by the end of the decade amid overexposure and concerns that he appealed to underage drinkers. (Spuds also appeared in Super Bowl XXIII for a 15-second "Know when to say when" message.)
In this Bud Bowl spot, keep an eye out as well for team Bud coach "Beer Bryant," styled (down to the houndstooth hat) on college football legend Bear Bryant; D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles packed Bud Bowl I with every football reference possible.
See "Final Seconds" for the game's conclusion.
BRAND: Budweiser and Bud Light
YEAR: 1989
AGENCY: D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles
SUPERBOWL: XXIII