Wednesday’s ad is from 1954, and is for Ballantine Ale. With the slogan “Where hospitality is a fine art it’s Ballantine Ale 4 to 1, I can’t help but think the art they’re using to illustrate that point could have been better. Ah, well, I guess everybody’s an art critic.
Tuesday’s ad is an old woodcut piece of art used to promote Ballantine Ale. Whether it was used in an advertisement or for some other promotional purpose is unclear. It’s visually telling the presumably mythical story of how the Ballantine three-ring logo was born, when its founder, Peter Ballantine, had set down his glass a few times, accidentally creating a perfect geometric shape known as Borromean rings. As the first woodcut suggests “Under his glass Peter Ballantine found a trade-mark now famous.” The Borromean rings became Ballantine’s logo, which did make the brand very recognizable.
In the second woodcut, the incredibly buff Peter Ballantine is pointing to the rings, presumably showing them to someone else, unless he’s in the habit of pointing and talking to himself, of course. And just look at the grip he keeps on his beer. No one is taking that glass away from him.
Still, pretty awesome art.
Friday’s ad is for Ballantine and is somewhat patriotic, at least insofar as the beer is chilling in colonial looking drum with Americana all over it. Also, the wallpaper and the candle holder are also quite patriotic. So with the 4th of July weekend beckoning, it’s hard to agree with that slogan. “Warm Hospitality calls for Well-Chilled Beer.”
Thursday’s ad is from 1968, when Karate had worked its way into public consciousness, and shows a black belt karate master posing beside four blocks of wood resting on a pair of cinder blocks, ready to be karate-chopped. The only thing standing in his way is a glass of Ballantine Ale. The tagline is pretty funny. “Stronger, Bolder, really means business!”
Monday’s ad is a 1942 ad for Ballantine Ale. It was the first full year that we were involved in World War 2, so it’s decidedly patriotic. The tagline is “How American it is … to want something better!” I like the simplicity of the ad, just a single beer bottle.
Friday’s ad is our last Ballantine for the week. This one is from 1947 and shows the California gold rush. But when the gold shows up in the prospector’s pan, it’s the Ballantine three rings symbol.
Thursday’s ad is another Ballantine Ale ad, probably from the late 1940s or 50s. Featuring a pair of dudes on a fishing and/or camping trip holding up their glasses of Ballantine Ale. The tagline is a great one, too. “Ballantine Ale begin where other brews leave off … in flavor … in satisfaction!”
Wednesday’s ad is a Ballantine Ale ad from 1947. The ad is a fun little lesson on language, how the word “muff” can have different meanings. It ends on a nice twist, how the word “Ballantine Ale always means: ‘The Perfect Glass!'”
Tuesday’s ad is also Ballantine Ale, I think it’s going to be a Ballantine week. Today is also the anniversary of Peter Minuit buying the island of Manhattan in 1626 for the equivalent of around $24 (or more like $72 in today’s money) worth of “cloth, beads, hatchets, and other odds and ends.” At the time, the good were worth around 60 Dutch guilders, or about 1-1/2 lbs. of silver. Check out the Straight Dope for the … well, the straight dope. The ad depicts the scene with the humorous tagline “Early American Bargain.”
Monday’s ad is a 1957 ad for Ballantine Ale. I love the colorful late fifties dinner party, with lots of Ballantine Ale, but just soup for the guests to eat.
