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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #1505: Count ‘Em

March 25, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is another one for Budweiser, from 1960. It’s another ad from their “Where there’s life” series, this one features puppies and is called “Count ‘Em!” Bud wants you to look at 7 — count ’em, 7 — words on their label. They don’t say which ones, but I assume it’s “Choicest Hops, Rice and Best Barley Malt.” Or you could go with “Brewed by our original all natural process,” though it’s hard to see what is so original. At any rate it doesn’t seem wide to let the consumer pick which seven words to pick off the label to tell them “why Bud is so good.”

budweiser-where-there-is-life-there-is-bud-count-em-1960

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

Beer In Ads #1504: Ahoy!

March 24, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1957. It’s another ad from their “Where there’s life” series, this one is a sailing ad called “Ahoy!” And it tells the reader to do more reading. “Next time you buy beer take a reading.” By which they mean, read the label. That seems like an awful lot of work, plus it would eat into the time I’d rather be spending pouring a beer for my eye candy, who sits smiling on the boat while I do all the work.

budweiser-where-there-is-life-there-is-bud-ahoy-1957 (1)

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

Beer In Ads #1503: Teddy Roosevelt’s African Safari

March 23, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1935. Today in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt set sail for Africa for a year-long safari, shortly after leaving office as President. His party arrived in Mombasa, British East Africa (now part of Kenya) and added local guides so that their number were just over 250 people. The hunting party included “legendary hunter-tracker R. J. Cunninghame, scientists from the Smithsonian and, from time to time, Frederick Selous, the famous big game hunter and explorer.” During their time there, they collected 11,400 “specimans” for the Smithsonian Institution and for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. These ranged from local flora and fauna up to big game, including “17 lion, 3 leopard, 7 cheetah, 9 hyena, 11 elephant, 10 buffalo, 11 (now very rare) black rhino and 9 White rhino.” You can read more about his adventures in On Safari With Theodore Roosevelt and the Smithsonian–Roosevelt African Expedition.

But in the beer world, the thing that Teddy Roosevelt’s safari is most know for it this. “President Theodore Roosevelt took more than 500 gallons of beer with him on an African safari. Must have been thirsty work!” You see this all over the place, including in today’s ad, which features the tagline “Said T.R. ‘I Want It in Africa.'” And then the artwork, illustrated by Ralph Frederick, shows Roosevelt in Africa followed by men carrying cases of Schlitz beer. Unfortunately, it’s not true. Here’s one account:

Our 26th president loved his beer to the point of brining 500 gallons back from a safari in Africa. That isn’t actually true – it’s a myth. Reality is that Theodore Roosevelt did not drink beer, or much at all, except an occasional Mint Julep. However Teddy Roosevelt knew that beer was powerful, and while training the Rough Riders in Texas, he bought the men all the beer they could drink as a morale booster.

I’ve also read that it was Bass Ale that he took on the safari, but regardless of which beer, it doesn’t really matter which brand since it never happened in the first place. None of the historical accounts of the safari mention the beer which, given the large and heavy amount of beer, you’d expect to be part of the record of the trip. It’s not, as far as I can tell. But it’s a powerful, and persistent, story, and a good story beats the truth almost any day of the week.

schlitz_africa-1935

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Schlitz

Beer In Ads #1502: Recipe For Corn

March 22, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Sunday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1960. It’s another ad from their “Where there’s life” series, this one a “Recipe.” By recipe, they’re talking about the ingredients of Bud, which they claim are “printed on every Budweiser label.” What’s funny about that is since at least the 1888 label, the list included rice as one of the ingredients, while the ad features a man chowing down on an ear of corn. Shouldn’t he be eating a bowl of rice?

budweiser-where-there-is-life-there-is-bud-recipe-1960

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

Beer In Ads #1501: Fish Story

March 21, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Saturday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1961. It’s another ad from their “Where there’s life” series, this one a “Fish Story.” Or is it? They’re trying to say that since Bud puts its ingredients on the can, that they’re somehow more truthful than their competitors. I do love the cigarette in his beer hand. And lastly, I”m no fisherman, but that doesn’t like a fishing hat to me. It seems to fancy for fishing. Of course, I know as much about hats as I do fishing: almost nothing.

budweiser-where-there-is-life-there-is-bud-fish-story-1961

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

Beer In Ads #1500: Stegmaier Brewing Company, Home Of Gold Medal Beer

March 21, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Friday’s ad is for the Stegmaier Brewing Company, the Home of Gold Medal Beer, from maybe the 1950s. It’s a postcard overview illustration of the brewery in Pennsylvania. I love these.

Stegmaier_Brewing_Company,_home_of_gold_medal_beer,_Wilkes-Barre,_Pennsylvania

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries Tagged With: Advertising, History, Pennsylvania

Beer In Ads #1499: Harmony

March 19, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Thursday’s ad is for Budweiser, also from the 1960s. From their long-running “Where There’s Life” series, a woman tickles the ivories as an unseen pours a can of Bud into a pilsner glass. It’s hard to tell if she’s looking up at him or vaguely in the sky to better listen to the music.

Budweiser-beer-advert-Ebony-Mag

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

Beer In Ads #1498: Pick A Pair In Purple

March 18, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from the 1960s. Part of their “Pick a Pair” ad campaign, showing that even a dainty woman can lift a six-pack, two even. This simple ad shows a woman in a purple dress holding up two six-packs of Bud cans. She’s looking at us with an expression that seems to say. “Yeah, I can lift these.”

budweiser-6

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

Beer In Ads #1497: Guinness Time Cried The Oysters

March 17, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Guinness, from the 1930s. I’m not sure exactly when “Guinness Time Cried The Oysters,” was done, but in the 1930s Guinness, and John Gilroy, worked on several Alice in Wonderland-themed projects, including “The Guinness Alice” (1933), “Jaberwocky Re-Versed and Other Guinness Versions” (1935), “Alice Aforethought,” and “Guinness Carrolls for 1938” (1938). Surely, this illustration from The Walrus and the Carpenter was part of of one of those. Anyway, it seemed like a good ad for St. Patrick’s Day. Sláinte.

Guinness-oysters-cried

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Guinness, History

Beer In Ads #1496: Special Lyrics

March 16, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. It’ from A-B’s long-running “Where there’s life” series, in this case the “Special Lyrics” are the “101 words” on the Budweiser label. I’m at least pleased to see she’s holding the record on the edge. Back in the day when I managed record stores, there was nothing worse then people just pawing a record with their greasy fingers and leaving fingerprints all over it. But if he keeps pouring that beer it’s going to spill all over her and the album. Also, if you look at the album cover partially show in the background, that photo is from a previous Bud ad.

Bud-1960s-special-lyrics

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, History

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