Budweiser Shift: No Clydesdales in Holiday Ads

Some familiar faces won't be around this year in holiday advertising: the Budweiser Clydesdales. Parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev is ditching the horses, which have been regulars in Christmas ads since 1987, in its quest to win over younger drinkers, reports the Wall Street Journal. This year's ads will instead have people in their 20s looking into the camera and calling out the names of friends as a narrator intones, "If you could grab a Bud with any of your friends these holidays, who would it be?" writes the Journal. One big reason why: Nearly half of drinkers ages 21 to 27 have never tried a Bud, and the marketing gods have apparently decided that the horses are too old-fashioned. (More Budweiser stories.)