<P> The ad first aired nationally during Super Bowl XVIII . As the agency wanted "1984" to be eligible for that year's industry awards, which were only open to ads that aired during 1983, a low - profile premiere of the ad occurred on the Twin Falls, Idaho station KMVT on December 31, 1983 shortly before midnight . Apple attempted to follow up "1984" the following year with a new ad entitled "Lemmings", to promote its Macintosh Office system . The ad, which featured blindfolded businessmen walking over the edge of a cliff in unison, was criticized for its "dark" theme and exaggerated premise . By contrast, "Lemmings" has been considered to be one of Apple's worst television advertisements . </P> <P> The beer brand Budweiser has long been a Super Bowl fixture . Its parent company Anheuser - Busch held a long - term contract with the NFL that allowed it to buy several slots of air time from the game's broadcaster each year at a steep discount, a contract that ran through Super Bowl 50; the company continues to buy multiple commercials in each game . Budweiser runs several advertising campaigns throughout each game, one of which has traditionally featured its mascots, the Budweiser Clydesdales . The Clydesdales were included in at least one Super Bowl commercial every year from Super Bowl IX in 1975 through Super Bowl LI in 2017 . Budweiser's parent company Anheuser - Busch has been the most successful advertiser in the annual Super Bowl Ad Meter survey organized by USA Today, having finished first on the survey fourteen times . When USA Today held an "All - Time Ad Meter" bracket tournament in 2014, two Budweiser commercials met in the finals; the winner was a 2008 ad spoofing Rocky, which went against its 1999 ad "Separated at Birth", which featured a pair of Dalmatian puppies given to two separate owners, but eventually seeing each other again after one became a mascot dog on the Clydesdales' carriage . </P> <P> As of 2015, Budweiser had won the survey thirteen times in fifteen years; its 2013 advertisement entitled "Brotherhood" focused on the relationship and emotional reunion of a clydesdale with its original trainer three years after leaving to become a Budweiser Clydesdale . Prior to the game, Budweiser also invited users to vote via Twitter on a name for the new foal that would be featured in the ad . A 2014 ad entitled "Puppy Love" featured a similar reunion between an adopted dog and another Budweiser Clydesdale . Its most recent victory and its third in a row, 2015's "Lost Dog", featured a dog being rescued from a wolf by the Clydesdales . </P> <P> In 2017, Budweiser broadcast "Born the Hard Way", an ad which dramatized Anheuser - Busch co-founder Adolphus Busch's emigration to the United States from Germany to establish the company . The advertisement attracted controversy among supporters of U.S. president Donald Trump for being pro-immigration, in the wake of an executive order issued by Trump which briefly restricted entry into the country by residents of several countries with predominant Muslim populations . A boycott effort also emerged among Trump supporters . Anheuser - Busch denied that the ad was meant to be a political message, as it had been in production for the past year, and that it was meant to "highlight the ambition of our founder, Adolphus Busch, and his unrelenting pursuit of the American dream ." Barring a brief appearance, the Clydesdales were not prominently featured during the ad . However, Budweiser's social media outlets promoted "ClydesdaleCam", a Facebook live stream of the Clydesdales watching the game in a stable and waiting to see their cameo . </P>

What was the first commercial in super bowl 50