Wednesday’s ad is a Ladies Home Journal (LHJ) ad from 1904 for Budweiser. It’s an interesting ad. First of all, check out the cage and cork on a Bud bottle. That’s not something you see every day. And the endorsement by LHJ is priceless. Can you imagine this today?
Mr. Edward Bok, editor of the Ladies’ Home Journal, in a page article in the May issue gives a list of 36 medicines, with official analysis, asserting them to contain 12 to 47 per cent. of Alcohol!
The ad goes to suggest the reader think of beer, with a mere 2 to 5 percent, is nothing compared to many of the medicines that mothers might give their child, some of which are “stronger than whisky.” At this point, Budweiser suggests that their beer is much healthier even than water with its low alcohol content.
Budweiser contains only 3-89/100 per cent. of alcohol. It is better than pure water because of the nourishing qualities of malt and the tonic properties of hops.
Budweiser is pre-eminently a family beverage; its use promotes the cause of true temperance—it guards the safety of health and home.
Now that’s a beautiful sentiment.
Here’s another one along those lines, from 1907: http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/advert&CISOPTR=489
They knew then , just like we do today, that beer is good for you!
Cheers…………………JD
Tx, Lisa, for the add-on – both yours & Jay’s are great (& should be required reading for the clueless neo-prohibitionist who runs the Marin Institute!)