Sunday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1903. In the first decade of the 20th century, Schlitz Brewing, then one of the largest 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, Schlitz is explaining that the reason they brew “Over a Million Barrels a Year” is — you probably guessed — their “absolute purity.” That’s also why they “doubled the necessary cost of our brewing to have Schlitz Beer right.”
