In 2017, during Super Bowl 51, Anheuser-Busch launched a commercial, Born the Hard Way. The commercial superficially acts as a concise biography of the immigration of one of the founders of Anheuser-Busch, Adolphus Busch. The purpose of the advertisement is to sell Budweiser products by leading the viewer to believe that the values of Anheuser-Busch align with the values of the intended audience.
The advertisement utilizes a tale of hard work, the pursuit of dreams and perseverance to attempt to assign the company characteristics. The assignment of positive characters traits attempts to humanize the brand for the viewer and points to the intended audience. For this commercial, the audience would be those who feel they are pursuing the American dream. People working hard toward a goal, in the same manner as Adolphus Busch. The purpose of the advertisement is to align Anheuser-Busch with people who can relate to the pursuit of the American dream, whether through their ancestors or their current situation.
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Initially, the viewer observes Busch in the bowels of a ship, it is dark and damp and traversing rough waters. It is with this initial scene that viewer is introduced the idea that Busch is emigrating to pursue his dreams. It is also during this scene that the viewer is introduced to Busch’s journal, the tangible representation of Busch’s American dream. This is an attempt to offer a shared experience with the audience. Busch’s reason for emigrating from Germany are given at this time, he intends to brew beer in America. After approval of immigration on the docks, Busch receives backlash from protestors on the dock. This scene further humanizes Budweiser to the viewer, especially the viewer who came to America by choice to pursue a dream of a better