Since today’s my birthday, Wednesday’s ad is from my hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, where the locak beer growing up was Reading Premium Beer. And let me clear up one thing right away — it’s pronounced “red-ing,” not “reed-ing.” We’re the first railroad in Monopoly. The Reading Brewery closed in 1976, but Schmidt’s continued to contract brew it for the local market, at least until 1987, when G. Heileman bought it. Eventually it became part of the Pabst stable of forgotten brands. Recently Legacy Brewing, also in Reading, Pennsylvania, resurrected the brand, but the website is down so I’m not sure what happened, though that’s not exactly a promising sign. It vwas actually harder to find an ad for them then I expected, but I tracked this one down from the Reading Eagle (one of two local papers, until they later merged with rival Reading Times). This ad ran in the August 18, 1964 newspaper.
The ad uses one of favorite ad slogans of all-time, “The Friendly Beer For Modern People.” You just don’t see ad copy like that anymore, which is a shame. Slogans and copy today usually seem so calculated, so shaded with meaning, so safe and scientific. This just sparkles. Here’s the whole text of the ad:
The Friendly Beer for Modern People creates a magic mood of merriment. There’s loads of fun and friendship in brisk, frisky Reading Draft. So next time you’re out on the town, ask your favorite bartender to Reach for Reading Draft … a rollicking, frolicking brew!
And while you can’t see it on the black and white tap handle in the ad, the Reading Beer logo is also very cool, with golden concentric circles around a blue dot in the center, also containing the brand name, as shown in the old beer tray below.
