The Clydesdale as a Marketing Mascot

Tags: Clydesdale, History and Origins

 

The Clydesdale Horse is the popular marketing mascot that is used by the Anheuser-Busch Company of St. Louis, MO. The horses have been the popular mascot since their debut at the turn of the century. The original Clydesdales were presented by August Busch, Jr. as a birthday present to his father, Adolphus Busch.
Mr. Busch knew a great and useful marketing tool when he saw one. The eight hitch team of Clydesdale horses became the national trademark for the company. In 1933, the Clydesdales began their national tour around the country in order to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. They began their tour with a first stop in New York with a visit to the governor who was responsible for the repeal of the Prohibition. In honor of his work on the repealing of the Prohibition, he received a case of Budweiser beer. The Clydesdales went on to tour New England and the Mid Atlantic states. The team of horses even stopped to deliver a case of beer at the White House to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

It was in 1951 that the Clydesdales were first introduced on television by Anheuser-Busch. They were depicted by a team of eight Clydesdales that were pulling a wagon of beer in the commercial. The team of horses pulled the wagon through the gates of the estate of August Busch. This estate was originally the Grant Mansion which was owned by the father of Ulysses S. Grant.

The Clydesdale horses were transported by rail during the first few years of their travel. The horses, the harness equipment and the wagons all had to be unloaded from the trains, and then put on local trucks. They then had to be unloaded again when they reached their destination. This proved to be a very time consuming process. It was a welcome change in 1940 when truck transport was first introduced.

Today, the Clydesdales are carried between 60,000 and 100,000 miles per each year aboard tractor trailers which are custom designed. The horses travel all throughout North America and on occasion they travel overseas. They appear in over three hundred events each year in which they pull the Anheuser-Busch wagon. These events include the New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and in the Pasadena, California New Year's Day Rose Parade.

The horses are stabled in a breeding facility in St. Louis, Missouri, in Merrimack, New Hampshire and in Valencia, California. It is a tradition that they are stabled with the companionship of Dalmatian dogs. On March 30, 1950, a Dalmatian began riding in the Clydesdale hitch in order to commemorate the opening of the brewery in Newark. The horses all wear their manes braided and their tails are adorned with flower and ribbons. The harnesses are handmade and are valued at $5,000.00 each. They are made of leather that is imported, with brass and silver and weigh in excess of 130 pounds.

The Clydesdales are always considered to be crowd pleasers, no matter where they may go. As they travel over the many miles each year, the tradition of Anheuser-Busch continues with them.

comments powered by Disqus