Saturday’s ad is for Michelob, from 19677. I love the jacket of the man seen in the bottle enjoying his weekend with a lobster dinner. I remember that decade, and had quite a few of my own fashion disasters. “Weekends were made for Michelob” was an inspired tagline, it’s just too bad the beer didn’t live up to the hype. It wasn’t exactly “an unexpected pleasure.”
Friday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, also from 1963. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, a second, and different, ad featuring political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer Eugene Burdick, who was also fond of scuba diving, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Thursday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, from 1963. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, the ad features the appropriately named Colin Ratsey, who was a world-class sailor before founding a sail-making company, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Wednesday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, from 1963. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, the ad features the appropriately named Ray Manley, who was a photographer known for his landscapes of Arizona, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Tuesday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, also from 1962. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, the ad features political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer Eugene Burdick, who was also fond of scuba diving, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Monday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, also from 1962. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, the ad features John W. Harvey, owner of the Elliot Bay Lumber Co., making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Sunday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, also from 1962. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, the ad features Alec Cushing, who built the Squaw Valley Ski Resort, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Saturday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, also from 1962. In an ad series somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, although more marginally famous tending more toward the manly fame. In this one, the ad features Elliot Burch, who trains horses, making him “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Friday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale, from 1962. In an ad somewhat similar to the Blatz series, the “Ale Man” in the ad is a famous person, a well-known yachtsman of the time, William “Bill” Snaith, sailor of the Figaro III, which can be seen in the ad. Snaith was also, according to the copy, “a man with a thirst for a manlier brew.”
Thursday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1950. The ad is sort of part of Blatz’s “I lived in Milwaukee, I ought to know” series from the later Forties and Fifties that featured prominent celebrities, sports figures and famous folks from Milwaukee claiming to know “Blatz is Milwaukee’s Finest Beer” because they lived there, or near there, at some point in their lives. This one doesn’t so much feature a person as a radio show, Duffy’s Tavern, a radio sitcom about the misadventures of bartender/bar manager Archie. Archie was played by Ed Gardner, who also wrote and produced the popular show during its ten-year run. Despite the ads showing Gardner in his role as “Archie,” I guess he wasn’t famous enough (maybe since it was radio no one knew what he looked like?). That’s also why it doesn’t use the “I’m from …” of “I’ve been to …” Milwaukee-focused opening line, and instead the show’s fictional bar serves Blatz as their exclusive beer. Also, I’m pleased to announce that this is the last Blatz ad in this series that I’ve found so tomorrow we’ll be returning to random beer ads.
