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On Jan. 29, 1995, the 49ers steamrolled the Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. For the millions of presumably bored viewers, however, there was at least one bright spot. That came during a break in the action, when one particularly clever Budweiser commercial aired. Set in a swamp and featuring three frogs combining to rhythmically croak the name of the beer company, the spot quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.
In 1994, Dave Swaine was a copywriter at D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in St. Louis. That year, he and art director Michael Smith came up with the idea for the spot. Swaine recently shared his thoughts on the commercial, which he views as a career highlight.
“I’ve been lucky enough to work on six-and-a-half minutes of Super Bowl television,” Swaine said in an email, “but these 30 seconds were surely the best. It’s been really fun to be a part of something this big.”
On the origin of the ad:
“There are stories about how we were in a swamp drinking Budweiser when we came up with the idea or that we had pet frogs as kids. What’s certain is that we were two young creative guys working as hard as we possibly could to come up with creative solutions that would help regain recognition for a storied brand.
Mike and I presented the idea in an infamous room at Anheuser-Busch called ‘The Fishbowl’ to some of the biggest guns in the history of the beer industry. Their reaction was immediate and very, very positive. We also sold a classic Budweiser Clydesdales commercial in the same meeting featuring the Rolling Stones’ song ‘Wild Horses.’ It would also run during the Super Bowl.”
To shoot the commercial, DMB&B enlisted director Gore Verbinski, who went on to helm The Ring and the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The agency also worked with Stan Winston’s studio to create the ad’s lifelike stars. Tom Woodard and Ronnie Brooks of Hummingbird Productions in Nashville provided the frogs’ voices.
“It’s rare that everything works out so perfectly. Our producer, Chan Hatcher, was exceptional. We were lucky enough to work with now legendary director Gore Verbinski. Even back then, Gore was a visionary, a true master of film. He understood that we wanted the frogs to be as real as possible and not at all cartoony. We collaborated with the amazing people at Stan Winston’s studio on the animatronic frog design. They were the same guys that did the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park among other special effects masterpieces. Truly amazing people. Incredible talent.
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We shot the spot at Universal Studios on the former Phantom of the Opera set. The guys controlling the movement of the frogs from Stan Winston’s place were actually underneath the swamp. The frogs’ mouths were controlled by three of their guys with remote-controlled devices strapped on their heads who sat next to the swamp. When they opened and closed their mouths, the frogs’ mouths opened and closed. We played the audio track, and they lip synced. It was pretty crazy to watch.
People remember three frogs looking at a neon sign croaking the world Budweiser. They don’t always remember that the frogs didn’t quite get it right at first. That was a magical part of the piece.”
It quickly was apparent that the commercial was a smash hit.
“We watched the Super Bowl that year at a little bar in Maplewood, Missouri, which has since been leveled. That was a party to remember. Soon, the spot was being spoofed in pop culture. My favorite moment might have been seeing the Simpsons episode where three frogs croaked out ‘Bud-weis-er’ and were then eaten by an alligator which croaked ‘Cooooors.’ Loved it.”
The celebrated commercial was featured in the Cannes Film Festival and landed in the Clio Hall of Fame.
“Wherever we travel, around the globe, people are always familiar with the Budweiser Frogs. It transcends cultures. Beer drinkers speak a universal language. Turns out we’re pretty fluent at it.”