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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #1469: Puzzle?

February 17, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is also for Budweiser, from 1962. It’s part of Anheuser-Busch’s “where there’s life” series and features Helen Williams, the first African-American model to “break into the mainstream.” Born in New Jersey, she’d been wildly popular in France in the 1950s but — surprise, surprise — she faced rampant discrimination in her native country from modeling agency until her cause was taken up by several reporters who took her side and wrote about her plight, prompting her to get offers of modeling work from a variety of clients, including Budweiser. In the ad, Williams is looking up from the crossword puzzle she’s working on to watch unseen hands pouring a can of Budweiser into a glass for her. I know a beer always helps me with crossword puzzles.

Bud-1962-helen-williams

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

Beer In Ads #1468: House Building

February 16, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is for Budweiser, from sometime in the late 1940s or early Fifties, is my guess. A couple looks over a tiny house model for what looks like it will be an actual tiny house when built full size. I know it’s just a scale model, but it looks like a one-room studio home with a bathroom, or closet. And how about his fashion sense, that green jacket with the ridiculously large yellow ascot; and striped grey pants?. Is he going to a Packers game or just a player? Maybe it’s a bachelor pad and that’s his sister or girlfriend helping him with the design?

Bud-house-model

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

Beer In Ads #1467: After The Show, Wherever I Go, I Meet This Old Friend Of Mine

February 15, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Sunday’s ad is for Rheingold Beer, from 1960. “After The Show, Wherever I Go, I Meet This Old Friend Of Mine — Rheingold Extra Dry, says the great authority on scat, Cab Calloway.” I’m not sure who the other guy looking in the mirror is, although he is sharing a beer with Cab Calloway, so he’s probably a friend or colleague. I guess the show went well?

Rheingold-1960-cab-calloway

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

Beer In Ads #1466: To My Ballantine

February 14, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Saturday’s ad is for Ballantine, from 1948. A simple Valentine’s Day ad with a great play on words with the title: “To My Ballantine” and showing a woman cutting out a red heart and leaving the three-ring Ballantine logo as the scraps. Those have got to be the longest scissors I’ve ever seen. They look more like garden shears. But nice and simple, with a great illustration in the center. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Ballantine-1948-val

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

Beer In Ads #1465: If You Can’t Come To Holland …

February 13, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Friday’s ad is for Heineken, from 1977. In the year I graduated from high school, Heineken was considered “the good stuff” by my step-father’s friends and relatives, which in retrospect is rather sad and indicative of the state of beer at that time. This is also at a time when Holland seemed mysterious, and people really didn’t know much about the European nation. So using such cliched images in their ads like tulips and windmills probably made sense, but looks really dated now. Even the beer glass has a windmill on it.

heineken-windmill

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Heineken, History, The Netherlands

Beer In Ads #1464: Pronounce It Mick-A-Lobe

February 12, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Thursday’s ad is for Michelob, from 1967. Apparently, in the late Sixties people still had trouble pronouncing Michelob. It reminds me of the packaging on Lagunitas, which includes “Say ‘lah-goo-knee-tuss'” on their carriers because when the brewery first opened, founder Tony Magee worried that most people wouldn’t know how to pronounce the name of the small west Marin town. So okay, it’s “Mick-A-Lobe,” “Now that’s an order.” Also, “In beer, going first class is Michelob. Period.” Sadly, that is how the brand was positioned. It even seemed to work for a while.

mick-a-lobe

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Anheuser-Busch, History, Michelob

Beer In Ads #1463: Croquet & Beer

February 11, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1950. Here’s a great rule of thumb for living. “Some sort of recreation belongs in every one of your busy days.” If it’s croquet and drinking beer, I’m in. Especially if I get to dress up in the backyard. But I love croquet, used to play it at my grandmother’s place all the time growing up. Curiously, though, she never offered me a beer. I do like that their croquet set appears to have a place on it where you set down your beer. Ours didn’t have that.

Bud-1950-croquet

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

Beer In Ads #1462: Enjoy Life

February 10, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from 1961. “Enjoy Life with Miller High Life.” Certainly the man is enjoying his, he gets the rocking chair and a book, while the little woman sits at his feet peeling carrots. I guess she shouldn’t complain, he did allow her to have a beer, too.

miller-hi-life-naturally

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

Beer In Ads #1461: The Sensible Choice

February 9, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is yet another one for Budweiser, this one from maybe the late 1930s. “The Sensible Choice of those who guard their health.” According to the ad, Budweiser is the “favorite beer of athletes and sportsmen everywhere.” That’s because “Pure, wholesome food and drink are necessary to have and to keep a healthy body.” And Bud is made with a mixture of American hops and “imported Saazer hops.” Which apparently makes it “strength-building but not fattening.”

Bud-gymnastics

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

Beer In Ads #1460: Gardening With Buds

February 8, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Sunday’s ad is another one for Budweiser, this one from 1950. I love the idea that Mother Nature is responsible bringing us beer, however this may be taking the thank you a bit too far. No fan of gardening myself, it seems like it would be even more difficult — nearly impossible I should think — trying to garden while holding a glass of beer in one hand.

Bud-1950-gardening

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

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