Monday’s ad is for Molson Export Ale, from 1950s. The man in the illustration does look happy. After all, he’s got a “”deep armchair” and the promise of “quiet relaxation.” All he needs is a beer to make his time off perfect … unless of course he’s got a wife and kids that won’t be thrilled about him spending the evening quietly sipping beer in his comfy chair.
Saturday’s ad is for Carling’s Black Label and Red Cap Ale, from the 1950s. I guess they were trying to make it look sophisticated with the castle mansion, Rolls Royce and man in a tuxedo. The tickets next to the bottle read “The International Look.” These were apparently their “modern new labels,” and boy howdy does that make the difference in how a beer tastes. This is one approach that the big breweries take that I’ve never quite understood. I understand that packaging is, and should, be updated from time to time, sometimes in small increments and occasionally a complete overhaul. But it’s not really newsworthy, it’s not what consumers care about. I’m arguably more interested in beer labels and packaging than the average beer drinkers, and I find these ads absurd, so how insignificant must they seem to regular folks? Why would they assume it matters that the label has changed? If people notice and sales go up on their own then the new packaging is a success. Telling them they should notice and care that the same beer inside the bottle now has a spiffy new label is, in my opinion, a pretty tough, and pointless, sell.
But if they’re going for sophistication, take a closer look in the bottom right-hand corner. What the hell is that character? A weird barrel-shaped man with a flat head wearing all-white, except for a black top hat and a striped shirt. That doesn’t look particularly sophisticated to me.
Friday’s ad is for Carling’s Red Cap Ale, from 1955. Kinda of goofy Canadian ad, all in red. A guy who looks a bit like Bing Crosby sitting in front of a television set, looking back to us with the headline. “Hi there! Get yourself a Beer * and sit down.” I guess there’s not going after the active lifestyle demographic. I also love the tagline at the bottom. “It’s a pure case of pleasure.”
Sunday’s ad is for Kingsbeer Lager, from 1955. The brand was produced by Dow Breweries of Quebec, Canada. A simple ad, but “So Light! So Right!” is a pretty funny tagline. But it’s nothing compared to the other ad copy. “Rice brewed to the Canadian taste.” Ah, the Canadian taste.
Saturday’s ad is for Labatt’s, from 1956. “Confused by a crazy canvas?” Yes, modern art is tough to understand, isn’t that hilarious. Of course, in the 1950s, there was a lot of modern art that challenged notions of what it meant to be art, so it was a pretty easy target for the beer drinking demographic, I would imagine.
Friday’s ad is for two Moosehead beers, Moosehead Pale Ale and Alpine Lager Beer, from 1956. The minimalist ad has a netting for the background then two cartoon text balloons with the two beers’ names. That’s it part from the tagline preceding the beer brands. “When In The Maritimes Ask For.” I wonder if this ad was effective?
Wednesday’s ad is for Brading’s Ale, from 1956. Brading’s was a Canadian brand that in 1930 merged with two other breweries to become part of Canadian Breweries Limited. The creepy man with the pipe looks like Laura Palmer’s father from Twin Peaks, played by Ray Wise. The tagline “At the flip of a cap, friendly pleasure,” seems somewhat odd, and I’m not quite sure what they were getting at. The unseen person was obviously flipping the cap like you would a coin, but what did the winner get? The beer? Did they have to pay the tab? Aren’t they in a fishing lodge, cabin or somewhere private, not a bar? “Mighty refreshing,” indeed. But the funniest of all is that last sentence. “Try a case!” While most marketers are happy if you try just one of their product, Brading’s is starting out by suggesting a case. After all, you can’t really be sure with just one bottle, or even ten. To really give it a fair chance, you need at least twenty-four bottles.
Friday’s ad is for Dow Ale, from 1954. The Canadian brewery in 1954 had “a smart new look” and was “‘cool control’ brewed,” whatever that meant. But the man sure looks comfy in the hammock, while still wearing a tie and holding a fan.
Saturday’s ad is for Dow Old Stock Ale, from 1937. Dow Breweries was from Quebec, Canada, but after an incident in 1965, the brewery was acquired by Carling O’Keefe, who shut down the brand in March of 1966. In the ad, a couple is playing cards (Bridge?) at a card table as one of the men is pouring beer for everyone at the table. Seems like a nice way to spend an evening pre-World War 2.
Today in 2005, US Patent D503550 S1 was issued, an invention of Brian Miesieski, Devin Kelly, and Geoff Blanck, assigned to Labatt Brewing Company Ltd, for their “Combined Beer Dispensing Cooler and Lawn Chair.” There’s no Abstract, which is unusual for such a recent patent. The patent application merely lists the seven submitted drawings of the design and the only other text at all is this short claim. “The ornamental design for a combined beer dispensing cooler and lawn chair, as shown.”
My first thought was this had to be a promotional item that Labatt used for some sales campaign. And, in fact, that’s what it was used for. I found a picture of the finished product, which also included this caption:
This unit was designed to promote Labatt’s “Blueprint” advertising campaign which was centered around a series of beer dispensers. This chair was featured on ABC’s“Good Morning America”, a nationally broadcast television show, as one of the “Best Gadgets For Your Life”. The cooler keeps 12 cans of beer ice cold while storing one can in a chilled holding pen. When the handle is pushed it releases the can in the holding pen and reloads itself.
And the Global Marketing Group of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, a marketing display company, currently lists the chair in their catalog under Unique Solutions. So you could still get your own beer can chair, if you really, really wanted one.
