Wednesday’s holiday ad is also for Ballantine, this one from 1953. It shows an invisible refrigerator outdoors during winter, with the idea that the reader will equate Ballantine beer with the “Flavor that chill can’t kill,” whatever that means.
Beer In Ads #264: Ballantine’s Early American Custom
Tuesday’s holiday ad is for Ballantine, from 1940. Part of a series of dioramas Ballantine used in their ads at that time, the holiday one uses a triple wreath on the door with the pilgrim kissing his gal on the cheek.
Beer In Ads #263: Christmas Bud Break
Monday’s holiday ad is for Budweiser, from 1949. A couple takes a break from putting up the Christmas tree for a sandwich and a Budweiser. Frankly, it doesn’t look they’ve done enough work yet to warrant a break but perhaps it’s not so much a break as their way of drinking the whole time they put up their decorations.
Beer In Art #106: Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s The Wassail
This week’s work of art is the holiday-themed “The Wassail,” by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish watercolourist and architect, designer and sculptor. He was best known as “a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main exponent of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom” and he had “considerable influence on European design.” Born in 1868, The Wassail was painted in 1900.
The original painting is in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Below is a detail of the center panel or section of the painting.
Wassailing is, of course, a traditional English and European custom that took place around the holidays, sometime around Christmas and in other traditions into mid-January. To read more about it, there are interesting accounts at the Hymns and Carols of Christmas, About.com, Time Travel Britain and White Dragon.
There’s also the drink Wassail, which I wrote about a couple of years ago after the release of Full Sail’s Wassail at Here We Go a-WASSAIL-ing
To learn more about Mackintosh, Wikipedia is a good place to start or the biography at his “official” website, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. There’s also a small Wikigallery with two dozen works and a good list of links at ArtCyclopedia.
Guinness Ad #46: Christmas Stocking
Our 46th Guinness poster by John Gilroy features our intrepid zookeeper waking up Christmas morning to find a bottle of Guinness in his stocking, hung on his bedpost. The slogan is again “My Goodness, My Christmas Guinness.” Hoppy Christmas.
Beer In Ads #262: Pilsner Urquell For The Holidays
Friday’s holiday ads are for Pilsner Urquell, in honor of it being National Lager Day. And one of the best is without a doubt is the original pilsner, Pilsner Urquell. I don’t believe the ads are more than a few years old, but I love the faux stained glass look of them. Who wouldn’t love those in their beer room, with the light streaming through into your own private church of beer?
The first two words mean “Inspiring taste” in Czech, but I don’t know what the third word means. Anybody know?
I think the iconic bottle ad is my favorite, but they’re all pretty cool.
Beer In Ads #261: Schlitz, Holidays Call For The Finer Things
Thursday’s holiday ad is for Schlitz, from 1955. The slogan is “Holidays call for the finer things in life,” and since I’m in my way to a fancy party tonight, this ad made the most sense. Too true.
Beer In Ads #260: Happy Holidays Ahead, From Carling
Wednesday’s holiday ads are for Carling, both their Black Label and Red Cap beers. Both of the ads are from the 1950s. They show the same jolly fellow carrying home a case or two of beer in the snow and promising they’ll provide “Happy Holidays Ahead!” Frankly, he already looks so happy I believe him.
The second ad is for just Carling Black Label.
Beer In Ads #259: Holidays Were Made For Michelob
Tuesday’s holiday ad is for Michelob, from 1977, where “Holidays were made for Michelob.” Check out the disco outfits the party-goers are wearing and at least they show several Michelob logo glassware in the foreground. And notice the people are actually using glasses to drink their beer. That’s a rarity in older ads. Must be a holiday thing.
Beer In Ads #258: Samichlaus Bound
Monday’s holiday ad is for Samichlaus Bier, now brewed at Schloss Eggenberg in Austria each year on December 6 — today — because the beer’s namesake, Santa Claus, or at least St. Nicholas, has his feast day today.
Below is an interesting graphic of the changes in Samichlaus bottles over the years from 1984 to 2004.
