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.
Monday’s ad is for Pabst from, it appears, sometime in the 1950s. It’s a double truck ad with a free wheeling high-spirited woman on one side of the fence and her conservative beau on the other. In his cowboy hat and tweed jacket, he’s looking askance at her unfettered emotions, barely moving as he holds on to his bottle of beer.
Tuesday’s ad is an old one — from 1893 — for Pabst, showing an odd scene “In Darkest Africa.” The artwork is apparently depicting Emin Pascha inviting Stanley to lunch. Pascha was a doctor, explorer and governor of one of the Egyptian provinces after 1876. Stanley is the famous British explorer Henry M. Stanley who went looking for Dr. Livingstone, I presume. But the ad is showing another of Stanley’s expedition, from 1886-1889, known as the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition in which he led a party to rescue Pascha. Presumably that’s what the ad for Pabst’s Export Beer is playing against, as it was big news in its day, though the Africans are depicted in a less-than-flattering light.
Wednesday’s ad is a World War 2-era one for Pabst Blue Ribbon which despite depicting two couples, uses the curious slogan “Good Beer For Good Fellows.” Sure, women are explicitly mentioned in the copy, but the slogan and art just don’t seem to jibe, though it is a cool painting.
I’m a huge fan of Dave Stevens and especially his story of The Rocketeer, which was a fabulous comic book before it was a 1991 film with Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly and Alan Arkin.
What’s not to love about an adventure story with a jet pack at the heart of it? I was captivated by jet packs after I first saw one in the James Bond movie Thunderball. So what does another of my singular obsessions have to do with beer? Glad you asked. I stumbled upon this 1976 ad for Pabst Blue Ribbon earlier today and it features — yeah, you guessed it — a jet pack. Although they call it a “rocketbelt” in the ad, it’s a jet pack all the same. The original video was uploaded to YouTube by the very cool sounding Rocket Belt Society.
Friday’s ads feature two for Pabst Blue Ribbon from 1956. Both are spot color ads depicting a blindfolded man tasting Pabst and declaring “This one has the touch,” whatever that means.
Below each photo it also reads. “Unmistakable! The taste with the Pabst Blue Ribbon touch.”
Monday’s holiday ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon from 1951 and feature some pretty ugly dolls singing Pabst’s slogan of the day, “What’ll You Have.” The Christmas tree has a “Charlie Brown” look to it, as well.
Thursday’s ad is from 1960 and is for Pabst. I chose it because the man is wearing a mustache and the men in beer ads rarely have facial hair, surprisingly enough. I love the slogan “Back in the Days — The Good Old Days … When Beer Was Really Beer.” I wonder what they’re trying to imply with that one?
With the World Series and baseball ads plus Halloween this weekend, I’m doubling up on ads so I can highlight both baseball and Halloween-themed ones. Today’s baseball ad is from the 1970s for Pabst. The “Cool Blue” Pabst baseball player is running to make the catch … of a mug of beer.
Thursday’s ad is again for Pabst, from 1940. It’s one of a series from around that time period that were all inside of a blue ribbon. I love the slogan at the bottom: “It’s Blended … It’s Splendid!” The opening tagline is priceless, too. “Order it with Confidence … Serve it with Pride.” I love that smirk on the waiter. But how about the elaborate sandwich — 4 fancy toothpicks! And why is there no beer glass on that tray, just the bottle?
