Wednesday’s ad is for Miller Lite, from 1999. The ad features model/actress Rebecca Romjin and the tagline “Pilsner is a type of beer. Kind of like Rebecca is a kind of woman.” Does that mean Rebecca’s NOT a woman? Because Miller Lite is hardly a pilsner. Calling Miller Lite a “true pilsner” is like saying a cardboard stand-up of Rebecca is the real flesh and blood model.
Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1951. The ad shows a circus elephant so enamored of a Schlitz billboard that he’s trying to drink the beer off of the ad. A policeman is running up to the elephant, but his trainer is just shrugging his shoulders. With beer this good, what can he do? At least that’s the idea. I’m not sure I’d take advice on what makes a good beer from an elephant.
Monday’s ad is for Schaefer, though I don’t know when the ad originally ran. The ad plays on Schaefer’s history, with this tagline. “On September 3, 1842 our first customer bought 5 gallons of Schaefer beer. It was the start of the one beer to have when you’re having more than one.”
Friday’s ad is another one for Hamm’s, this time from 1965. This one shows a large bubble forming in the top of the bottle, and in its reflection you can see an outdoor setting by a lake surrounded by a forest. And how about that foam in the glass? Pretty impressive.
Thursday’s ad is for Hamm’s, from 1959. Showing a pair of beer glasses toasting at sunset, the headline reads. “Yours, at the bewitching hour … from the land of sky blue waters.” So I guess that means the bewitching hour is sunset?
Wednesday’s ad is for Goebel Beer, from 1947. According to the ad, Goebel Beer fans are so enamored of their beer that even when they dream about tropical destinations, like Bali, they still find the Detroit brand sitting on the beach, waiting for them. “He goes native … at the drop of a moonbeam.” I think I’d rather have the trip to Bali.
Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1948, another in their “Great Contributions to Good Taste” series. The image of this as I have is fairly small so it’s hard to make out the story. It appears to have something to do with a man named Fred Harvey and how he made food on the train a better experience for people. I’m not sure what the frontier has to do with that, because it seems to me if the train went there it was no longer the frontier exactly. My understanding of “frontier” is that it’s meant to describe the edge or just beyond a settled area. Once there was a train station and regular rail service that seems to me that it would now be a settled area.
Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1951, showing a simple cartoon of the cow who apparently started the Chicago Fire in 1871. Today we know that’s probably not what happened, but the story of the ad is that with water in short supply after the fire, Schlitz sent a shipload of beer from Milwaukee. This was supposedly the first time their beer was sold outside their local market. Is it true? Who knows, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.
It’s the end of an era. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the surface of the moon passed away today at 82. I was 10 that July when the historic moon walk took place. Like most kids my age, I was deeply obsessed with the NASA space program, had many models and books, and even drank Tang. Neil Armstrong was a real hero to me as a kid and I have no less admiration for him as an adult. I’ll raise a toast tonight to Neil Armstrong, and the entire group of Apollo astronauts, along with the thousands of engineers, scientists and technicians that achieved what so many thought was impossible, that — in John F. Kennedy’s words — “of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”
The only question is what is the appropriate beer to toast Armstrong, and the Moon? I still have two bottles of Apollo beer from the 1990s but I’m certainly not going to open any of those. I also have a cool blue 3L bottle of Apollo Lager, which was empty since it was given to me, so that obviously won’t work.
To bad we can’t drink a Moonshot tonight. Maybe a beer brewed with Apollo hops? Sixpoint’s summer seasonal is called Apollo, and Laurelwood has a Space Stout, but I can’t either of those. There’s Blue Moon, of course though I think I’d prefer the more local Moonlight or even Half Moon Bay. What beer will you choose?
Friday’s ad is for Blatz, from 1951, featuring that manly entertainer, Liberace, who is apparently from Milwaukee. Who knew?
