Friday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1946. It’s a beautiful illustration showing a colorful sunset as a young boy — looking every bit like Huck Finn — is returning from a day of fishing, with a large fish in one hand and a rudimentary handmade fishing pole in the other. Behind him, two adults sporting more sophisticated fishing equipment look on bewildered, presumably because their fishing hasn’t been as successful. The text begins. “You fish in vain for words to describe your first big catch.” Okay. It seems an odd way to sell beer, but okay. But I love the tagline at the bottom. “Every sip tells you what words can’t — why Budweiser is something more than beer … a tradition.” Essentially, they’re saying tradition is more than beer. That’s another tortured slogan that doesn’t really seem to make a lot of sense.
Use of kids in branding today would likely bring howls of protest, but I like Buds brand building and suggestion that beer is part of everyday life.