Archives for April 2018

Monday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1938. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation,” and the continued on with some similar-themed ads after that.

In this ad, with the headline “Yes… the brewers do mean business,” the ad is all about “Beer Statesmanship” and ensuring all of the bars and retailers selling beer post-prohibition do so in a positive manner with no illegal activities or unscrupulous practices taking place in them. This was their attempt to clean up their image and, in effect, undo the damage of the smear campaign and propaganda that the prohibitionists employed to get prohibition passed in the first place, and which they returned to immediately after its repeal.

Sunday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1940. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation,” and the continued on with some similar-themed ads after that.

In this ad, with the headline “The Moderation Hour,” the scene is two men in what I think is supposed to be a booth at a bar having a beer together. But the cuckoo clock on the wall behind them doesn’t have any chains or weights to make it work, or the pendulum for that matter. But the tagline below the table is what the ad is trying to promote. “Good Beer and Ale in wholesome, modern taverns, offer Americans pleasant, inexpensive relaxation!” And they point out that all that relaxing led to the industry paying $411,596,780 in state and federal taxes.

Saturday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1944. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation,” and the continued on with some similar-themed ads after that.

In this ad, with the headline “Within The Family’s Inner Circle … Beer Is Welcome, Too!,” the scene is a 50th-anniversary party, but the ad talks about how welcome beer is, and ought to be, welcome at so many family gatherings as “a beverage of moderation.”

Friday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1943. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation,” and the continued on with some similar-themed ads after that.

In this ad, with the headline “But Why Court-Martial The Whole Regiment?,” they’re suggesting that every group of soldiers has one or two who can’t pass muster and that you would simply get rid of those underperforming ones rather than get rid of the entire unit. That’s compared again to bad bars and taverns, so there must have been a concerted effort by prohibitionists using the unscrupulous bars and retailers again the entire industry at that time (not that they’ve stopped) and these ads were the industry’s response.

Thursday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1940. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation.”

In this ad, with the headline “What Hops Do For Beer And Ale,” the short answer is they’re “for flavor.” One curious aspect of this particular ad is that in the upper right-hand corner it indicates that this ad is “No. 21 of a series.” So far, I’ve only found three ads with this same “The Record” banner at the top. I’d long suspected there must have been more, but this leads me o believe there are many more, at least 21 and probably more than that. I wonder where they are?

Wednesday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1941. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation.”

In this ad, with the headline “This Book Isn’t Worth Reading … tear down the Library!,” they’re making the case that just because you might find one bad book, you wouldn’t condemn every book, and saying the same is true for the unscrupulous beer retailer, suggesting that they’re not all bad and you shouldn’t paint the entire industry as bad because of that one bad apple. I can’t help but wonder about how the prohibitionists were hammering them over this given that they made this effort to sway public opinion. I know that the prohibitionist wingnuts didn’t give up after repeal, and in fact came back hard to try to limit alcohol in every way they could, attacking it from many angles, using all manner of specious arguments and tactics (which I always find fascinating since they always claim the higher moral ground).

Tuesday’s ad is for is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from the late 1930s. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. But even before those efforts, the UBIF put their toe in the trade advertising pond with ads under the title “The Record … Facts That Concern You” and always ending with the tagline “Beer … a beverage of moderation.”

In this ad, with the headline “One Sour Note,” they’re making the case that just because you might find one unscrupulous beer retailer that they’re not all bad and you shouldn’t paint the entire industry as bad because of that one bad apple, all using the analogy of many musicians making up the sound in an orchestra.

Monday’s ad is for is by the U.S. Brewers Foundation, from 1959. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. Shortly thereafter, the ads continued to use thematic elements from the earlier ads, but they became more conventional, using photographs instead of art.

In this ad, another one entitled “Good For You,” two couples are out for an evening of bowling, which at the time was one of the most popular pastimes. In the 1950s, the highest rated sports television show was “Bowling For Dollars,” which seems crazy today. “What a great feeling to see all the pins go down…”

Sunday’s ad is for is by the U.S. Brewers Foundation, from 1959. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. Shortly thereafter, the ads continued to use thematic elements from the earlier ads, but they became more conventional, using photographs instead of art.

In this ad, another one entitled “Good For You,” a trio of people are fishing on the beach, and it looks the woman in the foreground has caught a good-sized fish, which one of the men is holding up proudly. After this, they’re all going to need some beer.

Saturday’s ad is for is by the U.S. Brewers Foundation, from 1959. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. Shortly thereafter, the ads continued to use thematic elements from the earlier ads, but they became more conventional, using photographs instead of art.

In this ad, another one entitled “Good For You,” the scene is a foursome on the golf course, specifically a putting green and you know they’re going to all share many beers after “the wonderful moment when a fifteen-footer drops right in.”