Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #444: Of The 332 Brands Of Beer In 1968

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Thursday’s ad is from 1968 and is for Budweiser. The ad copy claims that there were 332 beer brands being sold in 1968. Now that’s “brands,” not breweries, because there weren’t nearly that many different breweries in operation then. According to USBA figures, there were 197 U.S. breweries in 1965, but only 154 in 1970, just five years later. So the number in 1968 would have been somewhere in between that period of time when 43 breweries closed. The ad itself shows quite a number of Budweiser’s competitors at the time, claiming — naturally — that only their beer was “beechwood aged.” I recognize many of the labels shown, though a few — like Dawson and Van Dyke — I’ve never heard of before. Still, you’ve got to be pretty confident in your market share to show your competitors’ labels in your own ad.

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Beer In Ads #443: Pabst Gets The Call For Keener Refreshment

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Wednesday’s ad is from 1939 and is for Pabst. The slogan claims that “Pabst gets The Call for Keener Refreshment” at the celebrated “21.” But even though everyone is dressed to the nines, the place looks like a dump, celebrated or not. With cheesy Italian tablecloths, bowls of snacks on the tables and rec-room wood paneling — there’s certainly nothing wrong with a bar like that — but tuxedos and fur coats just seem somewhat out of place.

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Beer In Ads #441: If It’s Just Something Cold And Wet You Want, Drink Water

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Monday’s ad is from 1964 and is for a Guinness product, their Harp Lager. It uses a curious slogan, “If it’s just something cold and wet you want, drink water.” Since I can’t help but think of Harp as not much more flavorful than water, it doesn’t exactly make me want to rush out and buy some of their beer. But I do love the photograph of the beer beautifully posed on rolling sands.

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Beer In Ads #440: The Choice Of Your Lifetime, Too

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Friday’s ad brings Budweiser ad week to a close. This ad is from 1952, when A-B celebrated their 100th anniversary since the company that would become Anheuser-Busch first opened their doors in 1852. I can’t say the woman looks particularly happy on her wedding day, though perhaps it’s because the grooms looks a little too much like Snidely Whiplash with that cheesy mustache and the top hat.

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Beer In Ads #439: Hospitality Is Quickly Recognized

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Thursday’s ad is yet another Budweiser ad, this one from 1949. It, too, shows a party, though this one looks like it’s a “Gone With the Wind” costume party. Or did people really throw parties that looks like this in post-war America? “My, my. It’s so hot. But at least it’s not sticky. I just hare it when it’s sticky.” Now give me a beer.

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Beer In Ads #438: That Woman Is Real Competition

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Wednesday’s ad is still another Budweiser ad, this one from 1956. Like yesterdays, it shows a woman’s domestic struggles at pleasing her man, this time in putting on the best dinner party. One woman in a cocktail dress is whispering to another, who’s combing her hair, about another woman who’s skills as a hostess make her “real competition.” In part, that’s because she insists on always serving Budweiser. But you knew that had to be the reason, right? I can’t imagine why feminist groups often accuse alcohol ads of portraying woman in a less-than-flattering light.

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