How Lynyrd Skinners’ “Free Bird” appeared in Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad
Kyle Norrington, Anheuser-Busch’s chief commercial officer, talks with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about the brand’s Budweiser ad in the 2026 Super Bowl.
Budweiser achieved a record 10th place in USA TODAY’s Ad Meter competition.
The King of Beer is once again the king of Super Bowl Sunday commercials in a poll that culminated at midnight on February 9, hours after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60.
With “American Icons,” Budweiser empties the tank in honor of its 150th anniversary, with strong ties to the 250th anniversary of the United States. Naturally, the not-so-secret weapon, the iconic Clydesdale, was at the forefront.
Mix in the birth of an American bald eagle, who is raised to adulthood by a caring horse, paced to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” and it topped the competition, usually packed with emerging brands and nostalgia-filled celebrity spots.
“We wanted to realize the idea of celebrating two icons at the same time: Budweiser Clydesdales and the American Bald Eagle,” Kyle Norrington, Anheuser-Busch’s chief commercial officer, told USA TODAY before the Super Bowl, noting that “Free Bird” was the first and only choice for the soundtrack.
“There’s not a lot of dialogue, so ‘Free Bird’ tells this story in an epic way.”
In some ways, the tried-and-true formula stood out even more against a sometimes bleak ad line-up that made heavy use of artificial intelligence (including some fratricide between brands), puppy surveillance, and anti-aging technology from yesteryear’s A-listers that left fans on social media uneasy.
Budweiser first won the Admeter crown in 1999 and 2000, but lost it to Anheuser-Busch’s cousin Bud Light in five of the next six years. Bud won five more times between 2007 and 2015, but then suffered a 10-year drought, with Clydesdale returning to the winner’s circle in 2025 with ‘First Delivery’.
This time, it received a score of 4.0 out of 5, surpassing Ray’s “Last Harvest,” which depicts the emotional final lap of a potato farmer. Pepsi’s “The Choice,” featuring Coca-Cola’s iconic polar bear, came in third with a 3.48, while Dunkin’s “Good Will Dunkin,” featuring both the 1997 Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie and the ’90s NBC comedy icon, came in fourth with a 3.48.
Michelob Ultra (3.47) rounded out the top five with a star turn from Kurt Russell and appearances from Winter Olympic icons Chloe Kim and TJ Oshie.
