Friday’s ad is for the Albion Brewery in Leeds. I’m not sure when the ad is from, though I believe the brewery was founded in 1897 and closed in either 1933 or 1948, the UK National Archives isn’t sure. If the truck is any indication it’s got to be pretty early in the history of automotive transportation. And at some point they stopped giving driver’s licenses to lions, didn’t they?
Today’s UK newspaper, The Independent, has a nice write-up of Patrick McGovern’s theory (among others) that it was the desire of early man to brew beer that caused them to abandon their hunter gatherer ways and settle down to a life of farming, in the process sparking nothing short of civilization itself.
In the article, Did A Thirst For Beer Spark Civilization?, McGovern says “I think most people see (this theory) as a very plausible scenario. But we don’t have all the evidence. I just wanted to put it out there as a worldwide hypothesis. Then over time maybe the different pieces can be put together from across the world.” McGovern is the author of Uncorking the Past — a book I heartily recommend — that goes into great detail about the evidence for his theories.
Patrick McGovern signing boos at GABF in 2009.
Only marginally related to beer, the U.S. Army calls one of their spy drones the “Flying Beer Keg.” Technically a “Micro Air Vehicle” developed by Honeywell, it’s official name is the “T-Hawk.” According to an article in Wired, the pentagon is shutting it down because “it didn’t fly as smoothly as the Pentagon would have liked” and also because it was “known for its loud noise when flying.” Apparently, though, the Miami-Dade Police Force bought two of them to “fight crime.”
Frankly, I don’t think it looks that much like a beer keg. What do you think?
Thursday’s ad is a Ballantine ad from 1947. Part of the history ads featuring clay dioramas, this one shows a wagon heading west, passing a saloon where the bartender is coming out with a mug of beer. The wagon driver’s rope is making the three-ring Ballantine logo, which would be impressive if someone could actually do that in real life.
The UK tabloid newspaper, The Daily Mirror, reported today that a study at the University of Barcelona revealed that “[d]rinking up to a pint of beer a day is good for your health — and can even help you lose weight.” They also “found those who have a Mediterranean-style diet and drink moderately are healthier than those who don’t” and that “beer could cut the risk of high blood pressure.”
Wednesday’s ad is a Budweiser ad from 1958. The text “Fancy That!” at the top of the ad seems to be trying to equate the beer as being as “fancy” as the woman holding the lacy fan. I’ve called Bud a lot of things, but fancy was never one of them.
A while back I had a photoblog up that featured my favorite beer-related pictures that I’ve taken over the years, Brookston Beer Pix. It got lost in the internet migration last year but it’s now been rechristened as a Tumblr blog. Each day I’ll post a new fave picture from my photo archives, of which I have literally thousands. Quite a few of them are brewery porn, which is what I call photos of brewing equipment in all their naked glory. I also have a thing for photographing hoses in the brewery, so you may see a few of those along with many more of my visual obsessions.
If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll automatically be notified when a new photo is posted. Or you can, of course, follow along on Tumblr, which is especially easy if you already have an account there.
Did you know that words can have more than one meaning? Pretty elementary stuff, you’d think. Unless, of course, you can use ignorance to create propaganda for your cause. This one might be funny, if it wasn’t presented so seriously. I can almost understand that the kids of Roseburg, Oregon might be confused, but their parents and the Marin Institute should feel at least a little embarrassed.
Here’s what happened. The Marin Institute today accused Anheuser-Busch InBev of targeting families by advertising “Family Packs” of beer for sale around the town of Roseburg. A youth group there, apparently confused, sent photos of the ads to the Marin Institute who promptly went on the attack.
Here’s some of the rhetoric inspired by these ads:
“We knew that the Anheuser-Busch InBev marketing team was willing to stoop low, but this time they’ve really outdone themselves.”
“Cheaper than Capri Sun, it makes a perfect addition to a brownbag lunch for preschoolers and teenagers alike!”
And here’s the final volley:
How does Anheuser-Busch InBev think they can get away with this? Maybe they figure if they keep it in local communities, next to your kids’ school (as opposed to say, on national TV during the Super Bowl), they won’t get caught. All the while, of course, proclaiming all the wonderful work they do to counter underage drinking with useless educational brochures. Sorry, Bud – you’re not fooling anyone.
Except that ABI isn’t advertising “Family Packs,” they’re advertising “24 Pack Cubes” and “30 Packs” of the “Bud Family” and “Busch Family.” Notice in the Bud ad, the two statements are on separate lines, “Bud Family” on one line, then “24 Pack Cubes” on the second. By “Bud Family,” ABI means the family of products under the “Budweiser label, which are:
In the Busch ad, it’s on three lines. In this case, it includes the following beers:
Nobody’s trying to fool anybody. The ads are pretty clear if you know how to read and understand what words mean in context. Somebody really needs to buy the Marin Institute a copy of Eat, Shoots & Leaves. I don’t know the ages of the kids in the local “youth group,” so I can forgive them, but at some point an adult they encountered should have had enough book learning to point this out to them.
As to the fact that they accuse ABI of being “willing to stoop low” and declare “this time they’ve really outdone themselves,” all I can do is shake my head and think — yet again — this is such a perfect example of “the pot calling the [brew] kettle black.”
Tuesday’s ad is for Carling Black Label from 1972 featuring a curio box of Carling beer and related paraphenalia. The slogan is “Brighten Your Holidays With Full Flavor,” though it doesn’t look particularly festive to me. I do love the expression on the blonde’s face in the portrait in the upper right box.
In exactly one month, SF Beer Week will start up again. For ten days beginning on February 11, beer in the Bay Area will be front and center. Last year we had over 225 diverse events and this year promises to have even more beer-centric events throughout the Bay Area. In a couple of hours — at 4:00 p.m. — this year’s website will go live with the first batch of events added to the schedule. Start filling up your dance card now, to make sure you have a seat at as many of the great events as you and your liver can manage.
