Tuesday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1948. In the later 1940s, Pabst embarked on a series of ads with celebrity endorsements, photographing star actors, athletes, musicians and other famous people in their homes, enjoying Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. This one features Joan Fontaine. She was “a British-American actress, best known for her starring roles in classic Hollywood films. Her big break came when she starred in “Rebecca,” along with Laurence Olivier. It was also the American debut of British director Alfred Hitchcock, and she was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award She didn’t win for “Rebecca,” however one year later, in 1941, she did win a Best Actress Oscar for “Suspicion,” co-starring Cary Grant, again directed by Hitchcock.
In the ad, she’s by her private pool, at her home in Brentwood, California, picking up a beer from the table while talking to presumably a guest. You can see several people around the pool, some in suits and dresses, while others are in swimsuits, so I suspect she was throwing a pool party at her home, or at least that’s what they’re trying to convey. Ms. Fontaine certainly isn’t jumping in the pool anytime soon, not wearing that rock around her neck.
