Friday’s ad is for Budweiser and reflects the optimism of its publication date, which was 1933, just after the end of prohibition. Above cloudy skies, the Empire State Building, like a lighthouse beacon, shines around the city, lighting it up for the fun below. Below the beacon, an orchestra plays, people dine and dance, all, presumably, with the newly legal beer.
Thursday’s ad is another in the Schlitz “kiss of the hops” series, this one featuring a violinist with the tagline “Like a Melody, No Bitterness.” It’s from 1943, a time when I think ads still tried to cram way to much into their ads, as this one looks much too cluttered to my eye.
Wednesday’s ad is all about circles and is for Schaefer beer in cans from 1959. Using imagery from the top of the can with round burgers, they make the case that because of their similar roundness, they should — and do, I should add — go great together. But check out this priceless bit of adspeak copy. “Nothing goes with burgers like Schaefer. The flavor’s something special … never sharp, never flat, a smooth round taste. That’s why folks say it’s — REAL BEER!”
Tuesday’s ad is a maritime ad complete with the signal flags ships use to communicate with one another. The ad is from 1960 and is for National Brewing, from Baltimore. Did you know the Chesapeake Bay area is the “Land of Pleasant Living?” Me neither. I also love the unusual glass, no doubt chosen so we could see more of the poster of flags through it. The bottom stem looks a bit like an upside down bottle neck, doesn’t it?
Monday’s ad finds us at the beach with Ballantine Ale, probably from the late 50s, early 60s. The slogan “Try it for a change … and you’ll never change back!” is pretty interesting, though I’ve no idea what it has to do with being at the shore. The other text, “Ballantine Ale begins where other brews leaves off … in flavor … in satisfaction” is likewise great adspeak.
Our twelfth Guinness poster by John Gilroy is another in the “Guinness For Strength” series, this time featuring a stone statue pining for a Guinness.
Friday’s ad is for a brand I’m not familiar with, Sodibo, which I believe was a French beer. I love the highly stylized pastel drawing with the sophisticated-looking woman partially obscured by a bright blue fog. It’s from the 1920s and the art is by a Jean Rousseau.
You can see more of the art in the poster below, but I still prefer the simpler one with almost no text. Below seems cluttered, above, elegant.
Thursday’s ad is for Genesee Brewing from 1968 since today is their 77th anniversary. It’s a pretty simple time-honored strategy showing a sexy, scantily-clad female atop a giant beer can. I love the arrow pointing to the slogan “a little more exciting …” I guess they worried no one would even read it, what with their eyes unable to look below the dangling foot.
Perhaps you’ve noticed the latest television ads from the Boston Beer Co. trying to position Samuel Adams as a small fish in the big beer pond. I understood it immediately, as I’m sure you did, too. As sales of Sam Adams eke north of the 2-million barrels per annum threshold, they want to reclaim their position as the underdog little guy that made them successful. It’s a delicate tightrope walk and Advertising Age has an interesting article about it today entitled Sam Adams Wants to Show You Just How Small It Really Is.
Wednesday’s ad is for one of my favorite classic beers, Saison Dupont. I recently saw this ad as a poster framed at a friend’s house. The Saison Dupont Belgian Mussels poster is actually for sale at their importer’s website, Vanberg & Dewulf, though there’s no information about when it was first created.
There’s also another one in the style of one of my absolute favorite artists, Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte. The Magritte poster is also for sale.
