Friday’s ad is for Carling’s Red Cap Ale, from 1959. It’s not the most attractive of ads, but it’s also finny, in an odd way. It starts with the setup of a joke. “Once there were two Irishmen…” and follows that up with this gem of a punchline. And “now there are millions of ’em.” They also refer to the beer below the title with this. “A most unusual ale!”
Thursday’s ad is for Blatz beer, from 1948. Showing an orange tree supposedly with both California and Florida oranges on it, along with the Blatz beer bottles. Based on the ad copy, it looks like they were going after bigger breweries brewing in multiple breweries around the country when they state that they’ve “brewed only in Milwaukee for 97 years.” They also suggest that customers should be patient and wait for the Milwaukee beer to arrive in California … or Florida.
Wednesday’s ad is for Acme beer, from the 1950s or 50s. It’s another one by the famous pinup artist Alberto Vargas, this one depicting a blonde going over a fence, about to rip her short skirt, while carrying a bag of Acme beer cans and bottles.
Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1953. Showing a couple fishing a river, the woman is on the bank fishing a can of Schlitz out of a picnic basket to tempt the man out of the water. Perhaps it’s time to create the scene in the inset, frying up the fish.
Monday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1949. Part of Bud’s long-running “There’s nothing like it” series, but is odd for depicting a more traditionally English fox and hounds hunt, which I suspect was not part of ordinary life for most, if even many, Americans in late forties. More curious still, is in the text at the bottom it reads: “There’s more Budweiser now — and there will be still more as our expansion program continues.” That seems like an odd message to be telling consumers, but maybe this ad was intended for a narrower audience.
Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1950. In the wonderful illustration, it appears that a woman has discovered that her husband has emptied the refrigerator of food and filled it with Schlitz beer. Surveying the scene with a new bag of groceries on the table, not to mention other food scattered about the kitchen, all she can do is exclaim. “That Man — He’s Done It Again!”
Thursday’s ad is for the Eberhardt & Ober Brewing of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, from around 1890. While the brewery closed in the 1950s, some of the buildings are still in use by the craft brewery Penn Brewery. They even auctioned one of the original lithographs in 2008.
And here’s another version that’s a little brighter.
Wednesday’s ad is for Carling’s Red Cap Ale, from 1950. The ad is graduation-themed, with a disembodied Ethel Merman wearing a mortarboard hat with a tiny red cap on top. I love the way they characterize the beer as a “light-hearted ale.” For some reason that sounds better than light-bodied.
Tuesday’s ad is for the C.L. Centlivre Brewing Co. of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from around 1880. It’s another one of those wonderful illustrations of the industrial magnificence that old breweries used to do back in the 19th century. It was done by the Henderson Lithographing Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Monday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale, from the 1950s, I believe. To the question “Is This Something Special?” a couple of men sitting on a sofa at a dinner party, the other answers. “It certainly is … that’s Ballantine Ale.” I sure miss dressing up every time a few friends come over for a beer. Oh, wait. That never happened. But that would be special, wouldn’t it.
