Friday’s ad is for Carling Black Label from 1962. “People Like It” appears to be part of a campaign from the time period, using similar layouts. The first has a bowl of corn chips.
The second has a similar layout, but has a bowl of peanuts instead. And both still reference the iconic “mabel, Black Label.”
Thursday’s ad is for Ballantine Ales from 1953. It’s set on a rooftop bowling alley. It reminds me of the book from a few years ago, Bowling Alone, about how society’s more fractured now and has lost its sense of community. The bowlers in the ad certainly look like they’re having a good time.
Wednesday’s ad is for Redhook, when they were still brewing in Seattle, Washington. I’ve always loved the old-time postcard art showing the original brewery on Phinney Avenue. The building now houses a chocolate company and is across the street from Brouwer’s Belgian Cafe.
Tuesday’s ad is for Barclay’s London Lager. I love the simplicity of the ad, with few colors and using a lot of white negative space to great effect.
Monday’s ad is unusual insofar as its for a beer brewed in a village that no longer exists. Adelshoffen used to be in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. The most famous beer they made was Adelscott, which was launched in 1982. Heineken acquired the brewery through Fischer in 1996 and closed the brewery in 2000.
Our 34th Guinness poster by John Gilroy features an auto mechanic not needing a jack at all, instead lifting the car off the ground with one hand to work underneath it, thanks to the “Guinness for Strength” he just enjoyed.
Friday’s ad is a striking ad for the Swiss Lowenbrau in Zurich. There’s not much to say about it, it pretty much speaks for itself. It’s simple, only two colors; the red lion, holding and wrapped in the black flag. Timeless.
Thursday’s ad is a beautiful one for an Birra Italia, a Milan brewery. It’s from 1906 and was created by the German artist Adolfo Hohenstein, who was well-known for his Opera posters. Oddly enough, he’s “considered the father of Italian poster art and an exponent of the Stile Liberty, the Italian Art Nouveau.”
Wednesday’s ad is for the Scottish lager Tennent’s. Given the bottle, I’m guessing this is an old ad, maybe late 19th century. With the two dogs, the tagline “Give us your business & we’ll hold it” is pretty funny.
Tuesday’s ad is for the Mexican beer Tecate, brewed by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery. The brewery was founded in 1890. I have no idea when the ad is from, though it has a look of the 1950s or early 60s. Norman Rockwell south of the border.
