A Goleta Dalmatian graced TV screens around the world during a commercial for an iconic beer company as millions of people watched Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII broadcast.
The 8-year-old dog named Phoebe made her debut in a minute-long Budweiser TV commercial aired during breaks in the action between the victorious New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.
The dog caught the eye of the Budweiser team and booked the biggest gig of her acting career.
Phoebe — whose full name is CH Fyrehouse N Xanadu’s Phoebe — is the dog sitting on top of a Budweiser carriage as the wind blows her spotted ears. She made a prominent appearance in the opening of the commercial, which also features Clydesdale horses prancing alongside wind turbines to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
“They picked Phoebe because of her ears,” said Eleanor Winters, Phoebe’s owner and a Goleta resident since 1962. “They liked her ears because it works for the commercial — it’s a wonderful, lucky thing that occurred.
“My reaction was ‘My lord, there isn’t anything bigger in the Dalmatian world than this,’” she continued. “Budweiser has kept the Dalmatian alive.”
The Budweiser TV commercial opportunity fell into Winters’ lap after she took three Dalmatian puppies to the Doheny Mansion in Los Angeles for a photo shoot with the clothing company H&M several years ago.
Over the years, she’s periodically been contacted about more work, but her puppies’ ages never matched up, said Winters, who has been breeding Dalmatians for 17 years.
“I was on the list of people who do training, and a gal called me and said we need an adult Dalmatian,” she said. “So I sent her a picture of my three (dogs) and she picked Phoebe to look at.”
Winters described Phoebe as “mature, a real sweetheart,” and “affectionate.”
She mentioned that another Dalmatian, April, also is premiering in the commercial.
“I’m thrilled that the Dalmatian is beautifully represented,” she said of the ad.
The full commercial was released on Budweiser’s YouTube channel before the Super Bowl, and it had nearly 18 million views as of Sunday.
Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial announces that its beer is now brewed with 100 percent renewable electricity from wind power.
(Budweiser video)
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
