Monday’s ad is a clever one for Schaefer showing a bottle of Schaefer beer and a beer glass at right angles, with the instructions “For real enjoyment … turn this ad slowly to the right.” Which, if real, would pour the beer into the glass. It’s also interesting that Schaefer is positioning themselves by saying “it’s real beer.” The ad isn’t dated, so I don’t know when it was from or who they would have been subtly targeting as being not real beer with that statement.
Our 54th Guinness poster by John Gilroy shows a kangaroo whose joey has been replaced by a pint of Guinness. Though surprisingly she looks quite pleased about the switcheroo.
Friday’s ads feature two for Pabst Blue Ribbon from 1956. Both are spot color ads depicting a blindfolded man tasting Pabst and declaring “This one has the touch,” whatever that means.
Below each photo it also reads. “Unmistakable! The taste with the Pabst Blue Ribbon touch.”
Thursday’s ad features Miss Rheingold for 1948, Pat Quinlan, on a sailboat. Man, can she wear a smile. I’m no fashionista, but doesn’t that hip skirt look more 1960s than 1948?
Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1951. The title of it is “How to pamper a husband,” in this case one who mowed his way to the hammock, where he proceeded to take a nap. I’d like to think my wife would carry a tray holding a bottle of beer poured into a glass, smiling all the way, but I just can’t see it happening. I think it would be something more along the lines of WTF isn’t the lawn done?
Tuesday’s ad is for Genesee Beer from an ecologically-minded 1967. Half the ad shows an idyllic woodland stream setting held out as the perfect place to enjoy a couple of cans of Genesee Beer with the text “Enjoy it here ….” The other half shows a trash basket with a sign on it; “drop it here” and “American the Beautiful” at the bottom.
It’s the end of an era. My friend Pete Slosberg was a pioneer in the craft beer world. His Pete’s Wicked Ale, which debuted in 1986, penetrated the country nationwide and helped introduce flavorful beers in places that previously hadn’t known any. He was a beer ambassador who traveled tirelessly in those heady early days. Pete sold the brand to the Gambrinus Company in 1998, and they’ve had mixed results with it ever since.
I learned today that Gambrinus has sent letters to their distributors announcing that as of March 1, 2011 they’ll be discontinuing the Pete’s brand, citing “rapidly declining sales volumes.” Pick some up while you still can, and have your last taste of the iconic brand.
And for a fun trip down memory lane, below are a few television commercials that Pete did around 1994. Enjoy.
Signing Autographs, a TV commercial from 1994.
Here’s a second one, also from 1994, where a police officer ask him for a permit.
Here’s one that never aired, “Pete Goes Clubbing.”
Monday’s ad is for Falstaff from 1967, and shows two couples on a beautiful beach, with a can of Falstaff where the sun should be. “What a time for a Falstaff,” indeed. I want to be on that beach.
Our 53rd Guinness poster by John Gilroy is quite a simple one, showing a tilted half-empty glass of Guinness with the slogan “Guinness is good for you.”
Friday’s ad is for Carling Black Label, from the Mabel years (most likely the 1950s) and features the wooden tiles from the game of Scrabble. They spell out “Nothing so good for good company.”
