Bud Light Spuds MacKenzie Party Animal

Photograph of bull terrier wearing blue shirt and multicolored party hat sitting in front of a full glass of beer surrounded by balloons, streamers and confetti with white text.

Bud Light used Spuds Mackenzie, a Bull Terrier, as a marketing device in the late 1980s. The dog’s first appearance was at the 1987 Super Bowl XXI. The advertising executive Mitch Meyers created the Spuds Mackenzie character. The terrier was controversial because it was a female dog portraying a male dog and also because of the dog’s appeal to children. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization was just one organization to pose the allegations that Anheuser-Busch was marketing their product to minors through Spuds Mackenzie. The dog was so popular that the decision to remove her from commercials after two years was made. The dog had started to overshadow the product.