A palate cleanser after State of the Union is in order, I think. This one’s as light-hearted and saccharine as they come.

I was prepared to be a steely-eyed, stone-faced, savvy consumer, unmoved by Budweiser’s latest attempt to turn a CuteEmergency post into a Super Bowl ad. But alas, the reason this stuff works is blatant appeals to emotion and bland, nonspecific, but beautiful feel-good images that studiously avoid references to the actual product at hand are pretty darn effective. Amirite, America? And, then there you are tearing up at a beer commercial. The same thing happened to me with “Marley & Me.” Which, it could be worse. I’m on the record as preferring a Super Bowl ad that appeals to our better angels rather than the crass, dumb, unfunny, and often sexist jokes (to both sexes, mind you) that riddle so many of them. And, Bud has been better than many of its fellow beer-hawkers in this respect. I liked last year’s cutesy Clydesdale commercial, but more than that, I’ve enjoyed the “Superstition” series of Bud Light ads, which hits on the near-universal tendency of sports fans to put their faith in nonsensical sacred talismans (and, as a bonus, features normal women enjoying football and beer alongside the men in the commercials).

Anyway, here are your feels. I mean, it’s even called “Puppy Love.”

Dark exit question: What happened to the guy who tried to adopt the puppy?