Politics - News Analysis

NEVER FORGET: Watch The Budweiser 9/11 Commercial That Only Aired Once

September 11, 2001 was a heartbreaking day that none of us who lived through it will ever forget.

After the horrifying terrorist attacks, Budweiser released an ad to honor the victims of this unspeakable tragedy. This commercial only aired once, but it has just resurfaced, and it is sure to bring you goosebumps.

The ad opens with the legendary Clydesdale horses running in a field before being fitted with their equipment and pulling a wagon out of a barn. They are seen traveling down a road in the snow-covered countryside as people watch them go by.

The commercial then cuts to New York City as the horses travel across the Brooklyn Bridge and stop to look at the skyline in the distance. The camera zooms in on one of the horse’s face and pans out to reveal the Statue of Liberty beyond the animals. As the music swells, the horses bow down to the Statue of Liberty before the screen cuts to black.

This emotional ad only aired during Super Bowl XXXVI on February 3, 2002, but millions of people have viewed it on the internet since then. Anheuser-Busch executives jumped through a lot of hoops to get this commercial made, as they had to get approval from members of Congress, the advertising community, and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“We filmed in New York City. We had a helicopter going over the Brooklyn Bridge. Mayor Giuliani let us into the city — the only film company of any sort right after 9-11. To actually come into air space with our helicopter to film the Clydesdales…the hitch coming into Battery Park and it was amazing…just amazing,” said Bob Lachky, former executive vice president of Anheuser-Busch Global Creative.

Internet users have made it clear that the beautiful ad means a lot to them.

“They really should air this EVERY 9/11 without editing a single thing!,” “Still brings tears to my eyes,” one user wrote.

“We must NEVER forget! How touching. I’m sitting here crying at my desk right now,” another added.

“I still can’t get past it,” a third commenter wrote. “I lost so many friends that terrible day. It stays with me like a sickness…each year come August, it starts to creep into my consciousness…and doesn’t leave until a week after the day. Thank you Budweiser for this moving tribute… Please everyone, take a moment, remember those lost, and those fallen from the FDNY/NYPD who so bravely faced certain death, to try and save others.”

WATCH:

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