Wednesday’s ad is for one of the first low-calorie light beers from 1969. Notice the spelling of “Lite” for Meister Brau Lite. That’s significant because Miller bought the brand in part to create Miller Lite, which they later introduced in 1973 I love that Mesiter Brau is trying to link their low-calorie beer to sex from the get go, where refer to it as “Lite … a lusty, full strength premium beer with 1/3 less calories.”
Tuesday’s ad is from 1953 and is for Ballantine. It features someone in a captain’s hat looking lovingly at a very large beer glass, with the tagline “Expect something wonderfully different in Ballantine Ale.”
Monday’s ad is for a bock beer in honor of the Dutch holiday, Bokbierdag. I don’t know when, but at one point Miller Brewing made a bock. The ad features the iconic Miller witch riding a white goat.
And here’s a label for the beer, though I’d guess it’s older than the ad.
Today’s art is by an anonymous artist from 1840. It’s a diorama depicting political life in Nashville, Tennessee and specifically a scene in which as a part of a political campaign, one side is giving beer to a potential voter. It doesn’t have a title per se, but is referred to as Diorama of Political Campaign in Nashville. Giving beer to a potential voter. It’s folk art made of carved wood and is painted. It’s housed at the Tennessee State Museum.
Our 38th Guinness poster by John Gilroy features a pint of Guinness perched inside of a crocodile’s mouth and our intrepid zookeeper reaching in to get it, having obviously done the risk/reward calculation of “My Goodness, My Guinness.” Also, notice the crocodile tear. He must know he’s losing his Guinness.
And here’s a slightly different version of the same ad.
Friday’s ad is another for Budweiser, from 1972. The tagline is “Pick a Pair of Six-Packs” and the ad features a pair of blonds holding a six-packs above their heads. But it’s their outfits that really make the ad; bell bottoms with Bud labels, bare midriffs and white shirts with another Bud label over each breast pocket. Oh, and a red sash tied around their waist. Behind them is a five-piece band in a male version of the same getup. Classic.
Thursday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1956. It’s part of their “Where There’s Life … there’s Budweiser” campaign and features a great illustration of a dinner party scene through a glass of beer.
Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1979. The “Taste Buds” ad campaign was one of the goofiest ones they ever did. It didn’t last very long, but it sticks out in my memory, for whatever that’s worth. This is a print ad for the campaign, but it was really the television ads where its complete goofiness came out. So below this I’ve included two of those.
A 1979 Budweiser “Taste Buds” Ad:
And Another One with Pizza:
Tuesday’s ad is for Pilsner Urquel, because today is “Pilsner Day.” That’s because it was today in 1842 that the Citizen Brewery in Plzen, Bohemia — in what today is the Czech Republic — first brewed Pilsner Urquell, the world’s first pilsner. The ad is fairly recent, but plays on the beer’s heritage as a noble beer, Pilsner I, or Pilsner the First. And it’s just beautiful.
Monday’s ad is for Schaefer Brewing from 1970. The ad is promoting the idea of consistency with the curious tagline, “Every Glass of Schaefer Tastes the Same. That’s What Makes It Different.” The ad was for the Boston and New England market, suggesting enjoying your Schaefer beer while watching the Red Sox play baseball, and also mentioning that it was sold at the concession stands of, presumably, Fenway Park.
