Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1948. The tagline reads, “Refreshingly Different!” And while it’s certainly different, I’m not quite sure how something can be refreshingly different. But if anything could, I suppose a bear waitress in a green polka-dot apron and ice skating to deliver a Schlitz with two glasses would definitely fit the bill.
I think they mean, different from other beers which are more bitter. The ad emphasizes that this beer just has a touch (“kiss”) of hoppiness, and it’s probably aroma hopping too. So as early as 1948 but a similar trend is evident in the Rheingold and other big brewery ads, the long slide to blandness has begun. The brewer’s palate has already taken a back seat.
Gary