Thursday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1954. Here’s another way-too-happy looking salesman, with teeth so white I can almost see my reflection. Frankly — no pun intended — he looks a lot like Frank Sinatra. Perhaps that’s what ol’ blues eyes would have been doing had he not made it as a singer: selling Schlitz as a retail grocery clerk.
Wednesday’s ad is another one for Budweiser, from 1953. “When you know your beer …” you’ll grin like an idiot? No, “it’s bound to Bud,” at least according to the ad copy. But seriously, that guy looks way too happy.
Tuesday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1950. Part of there series of “There’s nothing like it” ads, this one shows a couple on a fishing trip, by canoe, stopping for a picnic lunch. Their lunch, including the cans of Budweiser were in a cool-looking red metal Budweiser cooler.
Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1944. With the tagline “Sealed with a Kiss” doing double duty; it’s an association Schlitz had been using in their ads plus the woman sealing the letter while the postman waits. As World War 2 was still going on, the ad adds another layer of poignancy since the illustration seems to suggest the letter is important. I think we’re meant to believe it’s addressed to a soldier overseas.
Our 100th Guinness ad is from 1959, for their 200th anniversary, which takes place tomorrow, December 31. That’s when, in 1759, they signed the lease for St. James Gate. Since I’m almost out of vintage Guinness ads, I’ll never make it to 200, so I decided to use it for the 100th series post. The ad itself shows many of the iconic advertising characters around the new anniversary label and the ad copy “My Goodness — a 200th birthday label!”
Most, if not all, of us who write about beer, and by extension blog about it, would not have a job were it not for one man: Michael Jackson. I think most of us who’ve been doing this for at least a few years now feel that way. I first met Michael at GABF in the early 1990s and feel honored to have been able to call him a friend as well as a colleague. When I did a profile piece on Michael for Beer Connoisseur magazine earlier this year, it was quite personal, and I polled a number of my colleagues and brewers about their feelings on Michael’s legacy so it wouldn’t just be in my voice. Their response was overwhelming and I struggled to use as many of the quotes they sent me as I could. As it was, the article ballooned to nearly twice the word count I was contracted for, because there was just so much to cover.
So I was thrilled when John Richards contacted me earlier this year to tell me about the documentary/biography film he’s working on: The Beer Hunter. In fact, I got on board right away and put my money where my mouth is, becoming a sponsor. That’s how much I’d really like to see this film be made and released. He’d also been doing some informal fund-raising and I know others have also donated to this worthy endeavor, but that’s only taken him so far.
The filmmaker has turned to Kickstarter to raise additional funds, hopefully for the last time (though if my experience in how these things go is any guide, probably not), in an effort to finish the film. He also has some additional lofty goals, including editing additional footage just for the DVD, creating a public archive from the entire library of footage to be housed at London’s Oxford-Brookes University (where Jackson’s print library is located) and set up a non-profit Michael Jackson Memorial Foundation. There is also a lot of additional information at the Kickstarter page and the Beer Hunter movie website, too.
So I’d encourage every single person who’s been touched by Jackson’s work to donate to get this film made. No matter how small, I’m sure it will be appreciated. If you’ve learned about the beer you love through any or all of Michael’s many books on beer and whisky, help keep his memory and legacy alive. Help make sure future generations know who Michael Jackson was, and how important he was to the craft beer scene that exists today, but might not have without his exhaustive efforts. And perhaps most important of all, help to create a film record, a living memory to show him at his best; talking about beer, educating people about beer and enjoying beer, too, an endeavor which he spent nearly four decades perfecting. There was really no one like him. I, for one, would love it for that to be a part of the permanent record of craft beer’s history.
Michael and me at Denver’s Great Divide in the mid-1990s.
Thursday’s ad is for Coors, from 1977 — the year I graduated from high school. Showing a pilsner glass by a mountain stream, I love their suggestion. “Refrigerate to retain brewery fresh flavor.” Did people really need to be told that? I know Coors’ has been cold-obsessed for a long time, but were there people who were unaware that beer should be stored cool? Certainly we knew it in our household. My parents had a second refrigerator in the basement that always had beer in it, along with overflow from the upstairs kitchen refrigerator.
Wednesday’s ad is for Genesee Beer, from 1961 — 50 years ago. Showing a very odd-looking couple in front of an antique car — Model T? [What I don’t know about cars would fill a book.] They just look way too happy, especially him. He looks deranged. Great copy: “Reward yourself with Genesee: enjoyment pure and simple. Beer with a bracing bonus of brightness in every bottle to make it fresher and friendlier … naturally more refreshing.”
Tuesday’s holiday ad is for Falstaff, from 1950. With a great tagline, “Falstaff’s Got Something!, I also love how they characterize the beer. “It’s Dry, Light but Lively.” And it sure looks that couple has been hitting the bottle as they put up their decorations. A wink and a nod ….
This was created back in May, but it escaped my notice. April Kuhn created a cool poster for Drink Philly entitled The Philadelphia History of Beer. According to the website, “[w]hile it doesn’t cover everything that’s occurred in Philadelphia since its founding, it does cover a lot — and it shows why this truly is one of the world’s greatest spots for beer.” If you’d like one of the poster for your very own, they’re on sale online for $10 right now.
