Spuds MacKenzie is back!
That’s right– the famed dog from the ’80s is back to grace the beer company’s Super Bowl commercial this year. The weird thing is that Spuds is playing ghost Spuds, hammering in the fact that the Spuds who acted in the original commercials in the 1980s is, well, no longer around. In the ad, Ghost Spuds reprimands a guy who says he’s going to stay in for the Super Bowl. “My soul can’t rest when people don’t drink Bud Light with friends.” The man says he didn’t think it was a big deal, at which point Spuds takes him around to realize (in ‘A Christmas Carol’ style) the true value of friendship.
According to CNN, the original Spuds died in 1993 after serving as the face of Bud Light for a couple of years. He debuted in the company’s ads in 1987, and his last commercial was filmed in 1989– this year marks the 30th anniversary of his debut. Anheuser-Busch has told the outlet that Spuds was played by a real dog actor for this year’s ad– not a computer-generated image.
Carl Weathers voices Spuds in the ad. Weathers is an actor and former professional football player, best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky film franchise, George Dillon in Predator, and Chubby Peterson in Happy Gilmore. A linebacker in college and professionally, Weathers played briefly for the Oakland Raiders before retiring from football in 1974.
Another beer ad for Budweiser, which will also air this evening, centers on the subject of immigration. It chronicles the company’s founder, Adolphus Busch, as he makes his way from Germany to the US, and has been a source of controversy as he’s confronted by Americans who shout at him, “You’re not wanted here! Go back home!”