Baby Clydesdale, Star of Super Bowl XLVII Commercial, Gets a Name Following 60,000+ Suggestions from Budweiser Fans

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- She's 21 days old, already weighs 200 pounds and starred in an award-winning Super Bowl XLVII commercial for Budweiser seen by more than 108 million people during the broadcast and millions more online.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130205/CG54336)

And now she has a name: "Hope," a nod to the optimism and happy ending of the commercial where a trainer reunites with the horse he raised from a foal.

Last week Budweiser asked its Facebook fans and Twitter followers to send along naming suggestions. The iconic brand was awash in ideas – more than 60,000 tweets, Facebook comments, calls and direct messages. "Hope" was one of the more popular female names generated through the social media crowd-sourcing.

"We were overwhelmed with the response we got," said Lori Shambro, brand director for Budweiser. "Budweiser fans suggested a lot of great names, and it was a tough decision, but we landed on Hope as the perfect name for this friendly, slightly feisty and just perfect Budweiser Clydesdale mare. Many of our fans wanted a name to reflect their optimism and spirit, which the name Hope encapsulates beautifully."

Other popular names submitted included Landslide (after the Fleetwood Mac song in the commercial), Buddy, Star, Raven, Spirit and Stevie.

On Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 3, the Budweiser Clydesdales appeared in a new 60-second spot, "Brotherhood," which chronicled the bond a Clydesdale foal shares with his trainer.  Brotherhood ranked No. 1 on USA Today's Ad Meter, which was based on fan voting on the USA Today website via Facebook and Twitter.

Budweiser also has just released an extended version of "Brotherhood," with a running time of just under two minutes, that can be viewed on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPG7PcI67dE

John Soto, supervisor of Warm Springs Ranch where the foal was born, said Hope's mother is a mare named Darla, and her father is a stallion named Perfection. When she is grown, she will weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, eat 20-25 pounds of whole grains, minerals and vitamins each day; 50 pounds of hay a day and drink 30 gallons of water. She was born at 5 a.m. on Jan. 16.

"Thirty-six hours before Hope was born, on Jan. 14, we welcomed our first-born Clydesdale of the year, a boy," Soto said. "We have a special name for him, too."

Budweiser also is announcing today that the first male Budweiser Clydesdale born in 2013, born at 9 p.m. on Jan. 14, will be named after the recently deceased baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial, a sentiment echoed by many in social media. Many of the crowd-sourced suggestions, including "Six," had a Musial connection.

"We often name our foals using the same first letter as the name of the mother," said Jeff Knapper, general manager of Clydesdale operations. "Stan's mom is Savanna, so it worked out perfectly as a way to honor 'Stan the Man,' one of baseball's all-time greats."

More than 30 baby Clydesdales are expected to be born this year at the 300-acre Warm Springs Ranch, the state-of-the-art breeding facility for the Budweiser Clydesdales in Boonville, Mo.  So far this year four baby Clydesdales have been born.

"We can have two more any day now," said Soto, whose work with the Budweiser Clydesdales spans the past 33 years. "The four foals born this year are all doing very well ... There's never a dull moment."

The Clydesdales celebrate a major milestone in 2013 – the 80^th anniversary of their association with Anheuser-Busch. The Budweiser Clydesdales have been an integral part of Anheuser-Busch's heritage since April 7, 1933, and their strength and majesty symbolize Budweiser quality as well as integrity, achievement, success, perfection and team spirit.  They were formally introduced to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition for beer.

Anheuser-Busch has nearly 200 Clydesdales in its herd, with about half of them at Warm Springs Ranch in Cooper County.

About Warm Springs Ranch
Warm Springs Ranch features a 25,000-square-foot breeding barn with a veterinary lab and 10 pastures, each with a customized, walk-in shelter and free-flowing water dispensers.   The farm sits on 300-plus acres of land, allowing the Clydesdales plenty of room to exercise and roam.

Dedicated staff is on site around the clock to ensure the baby Clydesdales are welcomed into the world in comfort and safety.  Those Clydesdales born with the proper markings for a Budweiser Clydesdale – a bay coat, a blaze of white on the face, four white stocking feet, and a black mane and tail – have a future spot on one of the traveling hitches.  

About Budweiser
Budweiser, an American-style lager, was introduced in 1876 when company founder Adolphus Busch set out to create the United States' first truly national beer brand – brewed to be universally popular and transcend regional tastes. Each batch of Budweiser follows the same family recipe used by five generations of Busch family brewmasters.  Budweiser is a medium-bodied, flavorful, crisp and pure beer with blended layers of premium American and European hop aromas, brewed for the perfect balance of flavor and refreshment.  Budweiser is made using time-honored methods including "kraeusening" for natural carbonation and Beechwood aging, which results in unparalleled balance and character.  The brand celebrates great times and has used the phrase "Grab Some Buds" in advertising since 2010.

For more information, contact:
Joe Muehlenkamp
[email protected] 
314-577-7528

SOURCE Anheuser-Busch