Wednesday’s ad for Ballantine Ale, from 1945. Anticipating the post-war boom in home construction, it shows a couple looking over the blueprints for their new home, although the salesman holding them looks a little sleazy to me.
Beer In Ads #927: Satisfy Your Thirst For Better Beer!
Tuesday’s ad for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1954. Part of PBR’s “What’ll You Have” series, this one is tennis-themed, with a white tennis sweater emblazoned with Pabst’s tagline by the courts, back in the days when they still used white balls and … well, wore sweaters. Still not quite sure what made the beer better, though.
Beer In Ads #926: Deportment Excellent
Monday’s ad for Budweiser, from 1947. Showing a young boy whose report card was less than stellar trying to soothe the beating he was about to get by bringing his father a tray of Budweiser. I’m not quite sure he really thought this through. Is getting Dad drunk really the way to go here? And what exactly does “Deportment Excellent” mean? I guess I’m getting a failing grade, too.
Beer In Ads #925: I Was Curious About Model Trains
Friday’s ad for Schlitz, from 1949. It’s from their long-running “I was curious …” series, that featured three-panel stories that always ended with people drinking Schlitz beer. This one features a younger couple visiting the home of an older one, with the older man showing off his model train layout … and, of course, his superior taste in beer.
Beer In Ads #924: Early American Pioneer
Thursday’s ad is an Independence Day ad featuring Early American Pioneer Ben Franklin. In this ad, he’s flying a kite — at night, oddly — but I guess that’s so we can see the three-ring Ballantine logo in lightning.
Beer In Ads #923: Traditionally The Finest
Wednesday’s ad is for Miller Brewing, from 1950. It’s part of Miller’s serioes of ads from that time period using the slogan “Traditionally The Finest: with spartan indoor settings. This one features a nautical and seafood theme, and this curious statement: “women have a curious instinct for recognizing quality.”
Beer In Ads #922: The Sentiment Of The Harvest
Tuesday’s ad is for Blatz, from 1909. The curious tagline, “The Sentiment of the Harvest,” is above a fairy holding up a row of garland. It’s apparently advertising the Valentin Blatz Brewing Co.‘s Private Stock, “the finest beer ever brewed.” And I love that they mention the beer’s “food value.”
Beer In Ads #921: Beer Is The Pure Temperance Drink
Monday’s ad is for the Peter Doelger Brewing Co., from 1916. Peter Doelger was a New York brewery founded in 1859. It returned after prohibition ended, but quickly closed in 1937. The ad is just a couple of years before prohibition and shows how, right up to the end, many breweries were trying to convince people that hard liquor was the problem and, as their tagline says, “BEER is the PURE TEMPERANCE drink.” It didn’t work.
Beer In Ads #920: Once There Were Two Irishmen …
Friday’s ad is for Carling’s Red Cap Ale, from 1959. It’s not the most attractive of ads, but it’s also finny, in an odd way. It starts with the setup of a joke. “Once there were two Irishmen…” and follows that up with this gem of a punchline. And “now there are millions of ’em.” They also refer to the beer below the title with this. “A most unusual ale!”
Beer In Ads #919: Califlorida Here We Come
Thursday’s ad is for Blatz beer, from 1948. Showing an orange tree supposedly with both California and Florida oranges on it, along with the Blatz beer bottles. Based on the ad copy, it looks like they were going after bigger breweries brewing in multiple breweries around the country when they state that they’ve “brewed only in Milwaukee for 97 years.” They also suggest that customers should be patient and wait for the Milwaukee beer to arrive in California … or Florida.
