Things were tricky for American brands after 9/11. How do you acknowledge a tragedy without exploiting it? Budweiser accomplished that with this 2002 Super Bowl ad that was only aired once. This was before the days of YouTube, so it truly was just once. Some people still criticize the spot, but I believe it was a beautiful tribute.
Here’s what Mike Sheehan, the CEO of ad creator Hill Holiday, had to say:
“Respect” is the antithesis of a Super Bowl spot. Its pace is languid, its mood is melancholy. There is restraint in the film, in the music, even in the color correction. There isn’t a frame of the commercial that wasn’t, at some point, dialed back just a bit. For a spot that very well could have been criticized for being opportunistic, it adeptly threaded the needle of appropriateness. And despite its very un-Super Bowl commercial characteristics, it still is often cited as one of the best Super Bowl spots of all time. Maybe it deserves that citation, maybe not. If so, it’s because it was a thoughtful, purpose-built piece of communication created for a very specific moment in time.
via HHCC