Monday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale from 1947. It’s part of the series they did in the forties where they used dioramas and odd-looking clay figures in various settings. This one shows a group of 19th century dandies playing croquet in an idyllic park-like setting, most likely some rich estate.
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Friday’s ad is another older Ballantine Ale ad, with an illustration by J.W. Wilkinson. He was active beginning in 19-teens, and most prolific in the 30s and 40s so that’s my guess for when the ad originally ran. The man in the white suit looks a little Will Roger-esque, but of course could just be anyone from that time period.
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Wednesday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale from, I’m guessing, the later 40s or early 50s. Showing a couple dressed up in their finest haute couture, the woman in a stunning blue cocktail dress and the gentleman in a tuxedo with tails. They’re toasting something pretty important by the looks of it, the confetti at their feet suggesting possibly New Year’s Eve. But it’s not champagne in their glasses, but Ballantine Ale. Because, according to the tagline; “Ballantine Ale begins where other brews leave off … in flavor … in satisfaction!” I also love the throwaway line toward the bottom. “The LIGHT ale that’s strong on flavor.”
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Friday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale, from 1956. Showing an ambiguous pair of dudes eyeing one another, with frosty glasses of pleasure curled around each hand, who are saying — in unison, perhaps? — “That’s Ale, Brother!” And then there’s this great copy below. “No other ale … no beer … has such refreshing flavor yet is so light and non-filling.”
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Thursday’s ad is a 1942 ad for Ballantine. Given that it’s the middle of World War 2, showing off new American technologies such as this beautiful new train engine — my son Porter would be salivating over it — makes sense, especially with that forward looking tagline: “How American it is … to want something better.”
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Monday’s ad is a 1955 Halloween ad for Ballantine Ale. Showing an apparently impressed jack-o-lantern who just tried some beer, he’s declaring “that Ale brother!”
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For more of my past columns, see Brooks On Beer
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