Monday’s ad is for Pabst, from between 1900 and 1910. It looks like it’s probably two ads, or more likely two advertising postcards, though they definitely seem related and work as a pair. On the right, a woman is presumably ordering beer, and on the left a young man — sporting a dandy pink tie and a shirt with puffy sleeves — is taking her order. The boxes behind him suggest six different Pabst products: Hofbrau, Export Beer, Select, Bavarian, Bohemian and The Best Tonic.
Sunday’s ad is for Narragansett Lager Tap, from 1917. It’s a fairly tame and generic, ad but I love the way they describe the beer in the last line. “Discriminating folks” are the ones who “enjoy the malt beverages brewed from A1 barley malt, Saazer Land Hops and pure water.”
Saturday’s ad is for Rheingold Beer, from 1937. This was an unusual ad for independence day, using a snowman in July to talk about “the glorious Fourth.” And the snowman is lighting a firecracker, it must have really stood out in a magazine or newspaper published in the summer. And another oddity: there’s a circle containing the pjrase “beer is best,” which was a phrase being used at the time in Great Britain by a brewers trade group so it’s interesting to see it in an American ad during the same time period.
Friday’s ad is another baseball-themed one for Ballantine Premium, from 1968. This one is “Go Phillies!” and shows the three broadcasters for the Philadelphia games. The only one I recognize is Ashburn, who also used to play for the Phils (but then I was an Orioles fan as a rebellious kid). This ad also features another generic illustration of baseball action. Just what the hell is that symbol on the uniform of the player sliding into home?
Thursday’s ad is for Ballantine Beer, from the 1950s. Using the tagline “… the crisp refresher,” the illustration is of a generic blue and red baseball team, and the copy states that Ballantine is presenting the “Yankees on TV and Radio.” Those are clearly not Yankees uniforms so I bet the ad was used in multiple markets and Ballantine sponsored several different teams, as well.
Wednesday’s ad is from the Brewer’s Society’s “Beer is Best” campaign, from 1938. It’s the July image from “A Calendar Of British Beer” for the year 1938. Showing a pair of Shire horses hooked up to a wagon of wooden beer kegs, the idea was that such a scene wasn’t too far removed from “the way [beer] has always been brewed.”
Tuesday’s ad is for Old Milwaukee, from 1981. This was an advertising poster that Old Milwaukee put out in the early eighties. I’m not sure if the seductive model is somebody I’m supposed to know, or was famous in that time. Either way, I think it could definitely get better than that. For starters, better beer would be nice.
Monday’s ad is for Ruppert’s Knickerbocker — The Beer That Satisfies — from 1914. The Jacob Ruppert Brewery in New York put out this priceless ad during the inevitable march to prohibition, six years before it was enacted. They were obviously still hoping to turn public opinion with this great copy. “For the good of the public health, it is highly desirable that all prejudice against beer should be removed. This prejudice is held exclusively by people who do not drink beer.” The ad continues by listing great reasons why beer is so awesome. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
Sunday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1933. It’s a simple post-prohibition ad showing an older, respectable-looking man pouring himself a beer. He doesn’t immediately seem like the sort of person who smiles a lot, but pouring his Pabst, he does seem happy.
Saturday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1953. So what’s the going rate for a glass of beer? Why, a pair of pheasants, of course. And this as is a two-fer. There are not one, but two, magic bottles in the ad. Both full glasses shown have only half-empty bottles next to them, and in fact they look nearly full, with only a small amount just about reaching the top of the label gone.
