Wednesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1979. The “Taste Buds” ad campaign was one of the goofiest ones they ever did. It didn’t last very long, but it sticks out in my memory, for whatever that’s worth. This is a print ad for the campaign, but it was really the television ads where its complete goofiness came out. So below this I’ve included two of those.
A 1979 Budweiser “Taste Buds” Ad:
And Another One with Pizza:
Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from around the mid-1950s and features a beach scene at night, with a lighthouse in the background. Five couples are around a fire on the beach, or are on their way to it. An aluminum cooler in the foreground holds cans of Bud and the whole scene has the slogan “Treat Yourself A Little Better!”
Thursday’s ad continues Bud week and is from 1937 and uses an odd bit of logic, equating an oak tree’s management of its seeds — or acorns — with the growing barley for making beer. I’m all for the idea that quality ingredients are necessary to brew a quality beer, but the analogy seems stretched a bit. There’s also an impassioned thank you from Adolphus Busch III for supporting American barley farmers and hop growers through buying Budweiser, the nation having just come out of the Great Depression. Finally, I love the reference to Shakespeare in the tagline at the bottom; “As You Like It .. In Bottles … In Cans.”
Wednesday’s ad is from 1950 and features another couple, similar to Monday’s couple, this time playing at archery. The woman is the clear winner as her two fingers indicates the number of bullseyes she’s gotten. It also uses the same slogan, “There’s nothing like it … absolutely nothing.”
This week is shaping up to be a Budweiser sort of week, and Tuesday’s ad is from 1951 and features a couple opening their wedding gifts. Presumably, neither are happy about the statue she’s just unwrapped, but the tray of Bud he bringing in, now that’s the “mark of good taste.”
Monday’s ad is for Budweiser from most likely the 1950s, or possibly post-war forties. Fishing is the theme and the tagline is “There’s nothing like it … absolutely nothing.” She looks like she’s ready for fishing, even with the bamboo rod. The dude, on the other hand, looks like he’s dressed for a nightclub, or bowling maybe.
Monday’s ad is presumably supposed to be funny in that time when most women were housewives incapable of much else, and certainly putting up wallpaper was beyond their expertise. She has that “I guess I can’t do it” look on her face, but I’m sure the beer will make it all better. It’s from 1958. In my household the opposite is true. I’m all thumbs but my wife is the handy one.
Friday’s ad is an old one, for Budweiser, from either 1904 or 1906. It’s a “modern” interpretation of the Greek myth of Ganymede. It shows Ganymede instead of introducing mead, as the legend goes, to the gods, instead introducing them to Budweiser. It was apparently published in Theater Magazine.
Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, who on this day opened not one, but two new plants. They opened a new brewery in Tampa, Florida on this day in 1959 and in Houston, Texas in 1966. I’m not sure of the date of the ad, but judging by the look of the cans, and the “Tab Top” text around the bottom of each can, I’d guess the early 1960s. But I do like the simplicity of the ad and the playful pun.
Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser from the 1950s. The ad is positioning Budweiser as a food friendly beer. The dish in the center reads. “Age Old Partners — Fine Beer and Fine Food.” All the other dishes depict some of the foods they believe Bud will pair well with: pheasant, turkey, duck, beef, lobster, deer and fish. Having been to several beer dinners put on by Anheuser-Busch, I can’t say that Bud is a versatile as they suggest, and is frankly overwhelmed by most of those dishes. But it’s interesting to see them try to position it as an all-purpose food beer.
