Wednesday’s ad is for Zlaty Bazant, or Golden Pheasant, a Slovakian beer, now owned by Heineken. I don’t think it’s particularly old (it’s from 2011) but I love the idea of a pillowy head creating a wintery wonderland.
Beer In Ads #1043: Best Wishes From Wm. J. Lemp
Tuesday’s ad is for Wm. J. Lemp Brewing Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, from who knows when. It looks old, but it also looks like it could be designed to look old, too. Once upon a time it was a very strong brand in Missouri, but they didn’t survive Prohibition, though they tried reviving it in 1939, then Falstaff bought it and it’s now owned privately by an individual from St. Louis, who was brewing it under contract at Stevens Point Brewing.
Beer In Ads #1042: It’s Always Winter In Your Refrigerator
Monday’s ad is for Ballantine, from 1953. Don’t you miss the days taking the horse and sleigh out to the pond and cutting off some slabs of ice to keep your beer cold? Yeah, me neither. That’s because, as the ad puts it. “It’s Always Winter in Your Refrigerator.” For “the flavor that chill can’t kill,” not that it hasn’t tried.
Beer In Ads #1041: The Cheerful Taste Of Budweiser
Friday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. The ad depicts a holiday dinner party, but I especially like the goofy expression on the woman in yellow dress staring at the man pouring himself a beer, as she’s about to shove some food in her mouth. Also, I love the ad copy copy from this period, using emotional adjectives to describe flavor and tastes. In this case, Budweiser tastes “cheerful.” I wonder what that tastes like?
Beer In Ads #1040: Holiday Greetings From The King Of Beers
Thursday’s ad is for Budweiser, from the not terribly distant time of 1990. But it’s a great retro-looking ad harkening back to a simpler time, and it certainly makes me wish for snow. Is that Santa driving the eight non-so-tiny clydesdales?
Beer In Ads #1039: Blatz Under The Mistletoe
Wednesday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1945. It’s a simple ad showing an attractive woman glancing up at some mistletoe hanging above her, with an expectant expression on her face. But what I love in this ad is at the bottom, what is perhaps the best approach to not being the best-selling beer since Avis declared themselves to be number 2, insisting “we try harder.” Blatz marketed themselves as “Fast Becoming America’s Favorite.” Quite a lot of wiggle room in that one.
Beer In Ads #1038: Felicidades
Tuesday’s ad is for Cerveza Polar, from some time after the 1940s, since that’s when production began for the Polar brand in Venezuela. This ad appears to be for the Cuban market, so it may be pre-Castro since I doubt there were many beer ads after 1959 … or Christmas, for that matter.
Beer In Ads #1037: In America’s Tradition-Rich East
Monday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from the 1950s. Even though I grew up in the “tradition-rich East” Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, having been in California for almost thirty years I’m a tad offended at Miller’s implication that there’s no traditions out West. But given that odd holiday spread that the lady in red is putting out, I’m not so sure about her having a “special touch of gracious elegance.”
Beer In Ads #1036: Season’s Cheer … From Arrow Beer
Friday’s ad is for Arrow Beer, from 1946. A holiday billboard ad for the Baltimore brewer, the original Globe Brewing Co., whose tagline was “It Hits the Spot.”
Beer In Ads #1035: Santa For Nippon Beer
Thursday’s ad is for Japanese beer, possibly Nippon Beer, and is from around the 1950s, give or take. It’s always great seeing Santa Claus holding an armful of beer bottles, but what on earth is that unholy orange soda doing there?
