Tuesday’s ad is for Ballantine, from 1961. While Ballantine may be one of the few American breweries in the 1960s making ales, this ad is for their Double LL, which was a “Light Lager.” You have to admit “Double LL” sounds better than light lager, even if it doesn’t quite make sense. Wouldn’t it just be “Double L” since “Double LL” would actually be “LLLL?” Either way, it’s “the ‘crisp’ refresher…”
You hit the language goofiness aspect right on the head, Jay; I doubt that beer had a very long shelf life; I never saw it in the DC area when I went out on beer runs w/my dad before I turned 18 & was able to do them for him (going from MD to DC, where 18 was legal for beer & wine; MD lowered the age after I turned 21).
Not for nothing, but I remember the commercials for this from when I was very young. “Double L, double L, Double L light lager beer…” There was a cartoon character in the commercial that came to me in my dreams and gave me night terror. I have no idea why. I was always being chased by “Double L”, which became the character’s name in my nightmares. Even when I woke my parents up to tell them i was having nightmares I’d tell them “It was Double L!” Laugh if you might but i’m 57 years old now and I still think of it. I’ve tried Hulu, You Tube, etc.. to try and track down the commercials to try and face it to no avail. Any idea where I can see this commercial?
Sal: Look what’s now on YouTube! You’ve been warned! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPgkQqKutn0
Sal: I remember that Double L ad with equal horror! Scared me more than any horror movie or bill collector! As I recall, the ad was done in stop-motion animation with wooden figures a la Puppetoons. This Burgermeister character sees these two LLs walking down the sidewalk to this wood-block KLONK-KLONK. What does he do? Follows them to the nearest gin mill and then hoists a Pilsner glass of Double L the size of the Chrysler Building! Gave me nightmares no end–those Ls looked MEAN with those sharp edges! Would love to see that ad again!