Budweiser is an American-style pale lager that is produced by the American brewing

company, Anheuser-Busch. The brand, established in 1876, is a long-standing, American

company that has grown to be the largest beer seller in the United States. Budweiser is also

known for their impactful commercials; during Super Bowl LI, the company premiered an

advertisement that depicted founder, Adolphus Busch’s, journey from Germany to St. Louis,

Missouri where he meets his business partner Eberhard Anheuser. Although the assumed aim of

the commercial was to emphasize the validity of the American dream, the Budweiser

advertisement, “Born the Hard Way,” is guilty of promoting a repressive ideology. Through the

Marxist concepts of classism and capitalism, the commercial portrays a rare successful story and

reinforces a repressive ideology in the spirit of patriotism, which is damaging to society due to

the fact that it instills credibility to said ideology and justifies discrimination against lower

socioeconomic classes.

Marxism, developed by social psychologist Karl Marx, is focused upon the economic

systems that structure human societies and aims to identify the disenfranchisement of lower

social classes and hold economic systems and those who benefit from them accountable (Tyson

51). Marx’s own philosophy and other authors that have elaborated on his theories were utilized

to recognize and identify Marxist concepts such as, classism, commodification, and capitalism,

in this advertisement that contradict its intended message. The brand applies ethos, pathos, and

logos to this commercial in order to support and encourage the pursuit of the American dream,

but this message is detrimental to society due to the fact that it is a repressive ideology that

dictates that socioeconomic class is the responsibility of individuals and a lack of success is

resultant of a lack in work ethic and initiative.