Budweiser Gave An Afghanistan Veteran A Surprise Welcome Home For Its Super Bowl Ad

Screenshot/The Orlando Sentinel1st Lt. Chuck Nadd and his girlfriend at his surprise parade.

When 1st Lt. Chuck Nadd returned to Florida after a stint as an Army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, he expected his girlfriend to drive him home to his family. His commanding officer had told him a documentary crew would film his arrival. But it wasn't just a film crew, it was Budweiser's creative team.

And it wasn't just his family waiting for him, it was the city of Winter Park. Budweiser gave him a full ticker-tape parade, complete with antique vehicles and the brand's famous Clydesdale horses.

The footage will be edited into a 60-second commercial that will run during the Super Bowl. Budweiser had originally announced that the ad would run at 30 seconds, but doubled its length in the editing process. Here's the teaser:

The ad will be a celebration of troops returning home in 2014 and will be promoted with the hashtag #Salute. It was produced by Anomaly, the agency behind last year's successful "Brotherhood" commercial. Anomaly also produced a (still unreleased) 60-second sequel to that ad, meaning Anheuser-Busch InBev will have four minutes of footage during the Super Bowl.

Lt. Nadd's parade took place on Jan. 8, and the Orlando Sentinel was there to cover it. The paper also spoke with Nadd himself. You can watch the Sentinel's video here.