History


Wednesday’s ad is another one for Budweiser, though this one’s a little older than yesterday’s, most likely from the late 1950s or early 1960s. It’s from Budweiser’s long-running “Where There’s Life” series of ads. The ad features a couple on the beach, and even though its night their faces still look shiny with sweat, or maybe that’s just the glow of the fire that makes them look like that. Either way, hopefully those weenies will be done soon.

bud-beach-picnic

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Beer In Ads #537: Bud’s Label Conscious

by Jay Brooks on February 7, 2012 · 0 comments

in Art & Beer,Beers


Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from not too long ago: 1987. And while I don’t normally feature the overtly sexist ads, this one is too classic to ignore. This, and variations on it, were nearly ubiquitous in the late 1980s. I recall seeing them everywhere. I still think it’s a fairly clever ad, even with the titillation. One thing that sticks out now, just 25 years later, is what they’re listenging to and reading. If the ad was done today, they’d be using an iPod and reading on a Kindle or iPad.

bud-label-conscious-1987

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Monday’s ad is still one more by Eugene Oge, a French illustrator who did a number of great beer adverts during his lifetime from 1861-1936. He was a major figure in the Belle Epoque and did many outstanding ads for resorts, food, and all sorts of beverages and brands. This is the fifth of his I’ve featured, and it’s for a presumably French beer brand, Grande Brasserie D’Arcueil. On a particularly hot day, the server appears to be licking the beer foam on the side of the glass as he delivers a giant mug of beer.

eugene-oge-grande-brasserie-darcueil

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Guinness Ad #105: On The Aircraft Carrier

by Jay Brooks on February 4, 2012 · 2 comments

in Art & Beer,Beers

guinness-toucan
Our 105th Guinness ad is from the Illustrated London News, from early 1945, during World War II. It shows two navy men painting, or possibly just cleaning, an impossibly huge aircraft carrier. One turns to the other and says. “I feel like a Guinness,” to which the other replies. “I wish you were!

Guinness-carrier-1945

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Beer In Ads #535: Biere De L’Eclair

by Jay Brooks on February 3, 2012 · 1 comment

in Art & Beer,Beers


Friday’s ad is yet another by Eugene Oge, a French illustrator who did a number of great beer adverts during his lifetime from 1861-1936. He was a major figure in the Belle Epoque and did many outstanding ads for resorts, food, and all sorts of beverages and brands. This is the fourth of his I’ve featured, and it’s for a presumably French beer brand, Biere de L’Eclair. Since fizzy yellow beer is sometimes referred to as piss water, I wonder if the horse licking the mug of beer is related to that idea? Nah, probably not, especially with the dog at the man’s feet begging for any beer that might drips down the sides of his mug.

eugene-oge-biere-de-leclair

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Thursday’s ad is from Switzerland, specifically Zurich, and is for possibly a restaurant or beer hall. Because Bayrische Bierhalle Kropf, in German, is Bavarian Beer Hall Kropf. It’s by Herman Rudolf Seifert, though I can’t find any substantive information about him. Featuring prominently in the ad is the hammers logo with the date 1417, which is used on the Hacker-Pschorr logo so perhaps it is a beer hall that serves their beer.

kropf

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Beer In Ads #533: Birra Italia Milano

February 1, 2012

Wednesday’s ad is also for an Italian beer, though it’s by renowned German illustrator Adolfo Hohenstein, who made a name for himself painting in Italy, where he helped to found Italian Art Nouveau. Hohenstein is also considered the “father of Italian poster art,” and this poster was completed in 1906, the year he left Milan [...]

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Beer In Ads #532: Birra Pedavena

January 31, 2012

Tuesday’s ad is a 1920s ad for an Italian beer that’s still in business — Pedavena. Similar to yesterday’s French ad, this one also features a king carrying a beer. Is it Gambrinus? Who knows.

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Beer In Ads #531: Biere de Charmes

January 30, 2012

Monday’s ad is the third ad we’ve featured by famed illustrator Jean D’Ylen. Biere de Charmes was done in 1924 for the French brewery located in the Lorraine that was founded in 1864. The king — Gambrinus perhaps? — sitting atop a pyramid of wooden kegs with two full mugs of beer, one in each [...]

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Build A Beer-Keg Radio

January 30, 2012

Here’s a fun one for the DIY crowd, from the June 1938 issue of Popular Science. The two-page instructions explained to readers how to build their very own Beer-Keg Radio. It was for your, you know, “game room.” Who doesn’t have one of those? It seems DIY was a lot less spoon-fed with detailed instructions [...]

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Guinness Ad #104: St. James Gate

January 28, 2012

Our 104th Guinness ad is another group portrait of many of the iconic Guinness animals and their zookeeper. Last week it was at the zoo, this week they’re at St. James Gate, the “Home of Guinness.” Which is ironic, since I was there last night — sort of. More on that later today.

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Beer In Ads #530: Christian Staerlin’s Phienix Brewery

January 27, 2012

Friday’s ad is old one, undoubtedly from the 19th century. It’s for a St. Louis brewery, the oddly named Christian Staerlin’s Phienix Brewery. I love these old industrial illustrated love letters, showing large, gleaming colorful industrial complexes. They seem to have been quite common at one time. I wonder if anyone’s ever done a survey [...]

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Beer In Ads #529: Go Ahead. Say It. Everybody Else Does.

January 26, 2012

Thursday’s ad is another one for Schlitz, this one from 1967. Using their iconic slogan “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer,” it’s presumably meant to be humorous. Showing an interesting contrast, with the patron in a black suit with a red tie while the serve sports a red suit, or at least [...]

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Beer In Ads #528: Mug-Carrying Gusto

January 25, 2012

Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1966. It’s another of the “real gusto” series, this one showing a server in a white tuxedo carrying five mugs full of beer. Look closely at the foam. Does that look real to you?

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Beer In Ads #527: More That Bud … That’s Beer

January 24, 2012

Tuesday’s ad is another one for Budweiser, also from 1964 and again withe tagline “that Bud… that’s beer!” In this one, a man with a goofy-looking expression is holding a bottle of beer at a party, and appears to be drinking it straight from the bottle.

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Beer In Ads #526: That Bud … That’s Beer

January 23, 2012

Monday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1964. The ad features a fisherman holding a flat-top can, with his rod over his shoulder and flies stuck into his cap. But it’s really the copy that stands out in this ad, staring with the tagline “that Bud… that’s beer!” But look to the left, here’s a gem. [...]

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