The 1980s Bud Light Mascot We Bet Hasn't Slipped Your Memory

Bud Light's late 1980s' mascot Spuds Mackenzie is among the ranks of some of the most iconic English Bull Terriers of all time — right up there with the likes of Frankenweenie and Bullseye the Target dog. Whether you were alive in the 1980s or not, you probably have some recollection of seeing advertisements for Bud Light featuring Spuds Mackenzie: The Original Party Animal. An actor by trade but a dog by birth, Spuds Mackenzie was really named Honey Tree Evil Eye, or Evie by those closest to her. 

Though portrayed as a male dog throughout her entire illustrious career, including in Bud Light's advertising, Evie was actually a female dog born in 1983. She began working just two years later, landing her first television gig in 1985. Prior to becoming the face of Anheuser-Busch Bud Light, Evie starred alongside Joe Pesci, Dean Martin, and Victoria Jackson in the 1985 television show "Half Nelson." For the entire one-season series, she portrayed Hunk, the dog of the titular character, Rocky Nelson.

Following the brief TV stint, Spuds Mackenzie debuted two years later, in 1987, during a Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light. Two women introduced the character as "a happening dude" as he zipped by in the passenger seat of a low rider convertible. After an admittedly catchy jingle about the newfound star, an announcer presented Spuds as Bud Light's Original Party Animal. Naturally, the bull terrier then headed over to a drum set to rock out as women offscreen chanted, "Go, Spuds, go!"

Since that fateful day, Spuds became a cornerstone of the brand's marketing strategy for the remainder of the decade. She's featured in a number of posters following her commercial debut, portraying her in dozens of party animal situations — whether she's entering the college hall of fame with a goblet of beer and frat sweatshirt, hanging twenty on a surfboard, or sitting beachside with a Hawaiian shirt on. Spud posters were everywhere — from busses to billboards in major cities across America. In July, around six months after the Super Bowl debut, The Los Angeles Times dubbed Spuds "the nation's most unlikely sex symbol." The article solidified Spuds' rightful place in society, comparing the dog to "a canine cross between Bruce Willis and John Belushi." 

Unfortunately, legal issues stemming from various advocacy groups and political leaders led to the retirement of Spuds Mackenzie just two years after her grand debut. That same year, in 1987, Senate Republican Strom Thurmond delivered a 15-minute speech on the senate floor condemning Spuds Mackenzie and Anheuser-Busch, alleging they were using the image of a dog to market beer to children. Other groups in the late '80s followed suit, with two notable non-profit organizations bringing serious heat and allegations to the party animal's reputation. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Center for Science in The Public Interest both claimed the advertising campaign was designed to hook children from an early age.

Though there was a lack of evidence, Anheuser-Busch ultimately decided to move on from the party animal aesthetic by 1989. Eventually, the brand retired Spuds completely in favor of another animal: the Clydesdale horse that, soon after, became another animalistic icon of Americana. After retirement, Evie enjoyed a few more good years before passing away in 1993. 

Spuds Mackenzie made one final appearance as "Ghost Spuds" in an evocative yet eerie 2017 Super Bowl commercial. The glowing, floating bull terrier found his voice in the afterlife, speaking for the first time as the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future in a nod to "A Christmas Carol." It's unclear if Bud Light ever plans on resurrecting the party animal once again, but it's evident that society needs him now more than ever.