Wednesday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1937. Bass Ale was one of the beers that helped push me away from the regional lagers I grew up drinking in Eastern Pennsylvania, and toward more flavorful beers. Jazz clubs in New York City in the late 1970s frequently carried Bass, and I really liked how different it tasted, compared to what I was used to. In this ad, another one from the “Great Stuff This Bass” series,” they’re also employing another regular character from this time period, “Bill Sticker,” who in this ad just hung a banner on a football, or soccer ball. I’m not sure when he was able to do that, but as a player took a shot on goal, the ball went flying high into the stratosphere, well wide of the mark, and I have to think having a sign taped to it would make it harder to aim. As Bill walked away, he quipped, “There’s plenty of ‘kick’ in that.”
