Wednesday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1967. Showing some antique chess pieces with a cool photograph, trying to assert that they’ll appeal to people who “appreciate the best,” suggesting those are also Bass drinkers. Hmm.
Beer In Ads #1546: Tecate’s Three Amigos
Tuesday’s ad, for Cinco de Mayo, is for Tecate beer, from 1988. The cartoon art was created by Leslie Cabarga and used by Tecate in a series of ads that summer, and was even made into a poster. Showing two Tecates, a bottle and a can, though the can is clearly the leader, along with a bottle of Chihuahua (which I recall selling at BevMo for $2.99 per six-pack), making an entrance into a wild west saloon. Notice the can has a bottle of salt and a lime in his holsters. It’s a pretty cheesy ad, but this was also the same time 7-Up was advertising using a spot with arms and legs, and California raisins were similarly animated, so maybe it was popular.
Beer In Ads #1545: The Only Beer Brewed Specially For The Can
Monday’s ad is for Long Life, from 1963. The canned beer Long Life Beer was made by Ind Coope beginning in the 1950s, making it one of the early beers in cans in the UK. They launched a series of ads claiming that the recipe was formulated specifically for the can, and as a result “it never varies!” But it certainly looks good for out-of-focus fishing.
Beer In Ads #1544: This Family Brews Beer Better
Sunday’s ad is for Falstaff, from 1970. Featuring soul singer James Brown, whose birthday is today. He did an ad for Falstaff in which he’s shown belting out a song in a dozen sequential photos on a black background. Below there’s a simple photos of a glass of Falstaff beer with a can next to it and the interesting tagline “This family brews beer better.”
Beer In Ads #1543: Living Beyond Your Means Again?
Saturday’s ad is for Lowenbrau, from 1984. It’s a fairly simple ad showing two bottles of Lowenbrau, one of which was poured into a glass, at a time when it was sill considered a “premium” import, which seems laughable by today’s standards.
Beer In Ads #1542: It Stands Out —
Friday’s ad is for Whitbread, from 1952. The illustration features an illustration of a man pouring a pale ale, and he’s wearing a very odd expression on his face, his smile seemed forced (or just plain creepy). But what strikes me as strange is a statement in the copy that “they do all their own bottling.” Was that something uncommon enough in the 1950s that they’d use it as a selling point?
Beer In Ads #1541: Stick To Beer
Thursday’s ad is for the English brewer’s “Beer is Best” campaign, from 1938. The campaign began in 1933, and ran for 30 years. This one simply shows a man’s arm (wearing a suit) holding a mug of beer. The ad copy wants people to keep drinking English beer, offering several reasons why you should. “Drink beer because you like it” and “Drink beer because it’s good for you.” But whatever you do, “Stick to beer.”
Beer In Ads #1540: An Absolutely Pure Beer
Wednesday’s ad is for White Seal Beer, from 1904. White Seal Beer was brewed by the National Brewery Co., a.k.a. Griesedieck Bros., of St. Louis, Missouri. It’s a “splendid adjuvant.”
Beer In Ads #1539: This Is The One For Gardening
Tuesday’s ad is for Falstaff, from 1963. Part of a series of ads from the early 1960s (see, for example Beer In Ads #225: Falstaff, This Is The One) in which they feature the slogan “For your Light-hearted moments … This Is The One.” One note, you may think that’s a bottle of Falstaff he’s holding, but it’s referred to as a “handy Glass Can.”
Beer In Ads #1537: … That’s Where We’ll Go!
Sunday’s ad is for United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from the late 1940s. I’m not exactly sure what year, but it’s the year after whatever year the brewing industry paid $400,000,000 in taxes. Two men are looking for a place to grab a beer, and decide the bar must meet four criteria:
- The food is good!
- It’s a clean, pleasant inviting place
- They obey the law …
- And they serve good beer and ale
I know I always wonder if bar owners are following the law before I’ll even consider visiting them. Don’t you? The other oddity is that the UBIF also announced a “clean-up or close-up” program to improve or get rid of bar bars in order to raise the standard of all of them. The idea, undoubtedly, was to change the pre-prohibition perception of bars, especially when it was still fresh in the minds of most Americans. Still, I know I’ll go to a place meeting those conditions, though I suppose the last one os the most important to me.
