Saturday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1967, and features an arm emptying a bottle of beer into a mug. The text begins with “Is It?” and then lists seven things about Michelob, answering them all with a simple “Yes.” Most of the list makes sense, but one stands out: “… the carefully selected brewer’s rice.” I know many larger brewer’s use rice as an adjunct, but “brewer’s rice?” What exactly might that be? Then at the bottom of the ad is the tagline “In Beer, Going First Class Is Michelob.”
