Saturday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1909. In the first decade of the 20th century, Schlitz Brewing, then one of the larger breweries in the U.S. after the industry had shrunk from over 4,000 to around 1,500 in just 25 or so years, did a series of primarily text ads, with various themes. In this ad, celebrating their 50th anniversary, having been founded in 1849, they’re talking about their purity, and “common beer, usually, costs you just as much as Schlitz,” so the inference is that you might as while buy the Schlitz.
