Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1941. In this ad, oddly about class, it’s really about how we call beer an “affordable luxury,” although the way they say it as a little different. “Not everyone can own the finest pearl, or drive the costliest car. But America’s most distinguished beer is within the reach of everybody. Here, indeed, is democracy in a bottle!”
Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1935. In this ad, which shows a blazing fire engulfing Chicago — the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 — along with the tagline “Long Before The Chicago Fire, Schlitz was making Milwaukee famous.” Which is technically true, since Schlitz was founded in 1849, or 22 years before the fire destroyed Chicago. Still, it seems like an odd way to sell beer.
Sunday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1939. In this ad, all about aerial photography, in addition to American landmarks shot from the air, there’s also a photo of the Schlitz brewery in Milwaukee.
Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1888. In this ad, a very patriotic server, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, is setting down a third glass of beer, as her two customers try to clink their glasses together while staring off into space. And are those the smallest beer glasses you’ve ever seen? And lastly, what about that goat table leg?
Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1914. In this ad, which ran in the Detoit Press on July 17, 1914, the warning inside the beer-drinking man’s head reads. “Nature has many ways of warning man of danger. The sense of taste and smell both serve for protection.” That’s followed by them stating that those skunk aromas and flavors come from “beer from light bottles.” They suggest; “Why take the risk?” Brown bottles are better, so buy Schlitz.
Thursday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1900. In this ad, after Schlitz had passed away and original founder August Krug’s nephews, August and Henry Uihlein, inherited the brewery, they continued building the business and by 1900 were brewing one million barrels of beer per year. I love these old brewery illustrations that make them seem just massive. And notice the keg-beer brands offered. One listed is “Budweiser.” That seems curious. And some of the bottled beers include “Extra-Pale,” “Extra-Stout,” and Schlitz-Porter.”
Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1964. In this ad, nearly thirty years later, they’re still talking about the story of Admiral George Dewey, who destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in the Philippines in the spring of 1898, without a single American casualty. This was during the Spanish-American War. Besides the art being far more minimalist, in this version of the story after their victory, the Schlitz office in Manila the next day delivered to Dewey and his crew “two bottles for every man jack in Dewey’s command,” whereas the earlier ad claims it was 3600 bottles of Schlitz, one for every sailor who took part in the battle.
Also, the phrase in ad, “splice the main brace” is in fact a nautical term defined as meaning “an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with an alcoholic drink” by Wikipedia, and Origins of Naval Terminology claims. “It was the custom, after the main brace was properly spliced, to serve grog to the entire crew. Thus, today, after a hard day (or, not so hard day), the phrase has become an invitation to have a drink.” So that’s a real thing. I’ll have to figure out a way to work that into a conversation.
Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1935. In this ad, they tell the story of Admiral George Dewey, who destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in the Philippines in the spring of 1898, without a single American casualty. This was during the Spanish-American War. Apparently one of his rewards for this heroic feat was that the Schlitz office in Manila the next day delivered to Dewey and his crew 3600 bottles of Schlitz, one for every sailor who took part in the battle.
Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from the early 1900s. This was from a series of advertising cards that would have been handed out to people, sort of like baseball cards, with a series usually tied together by some theme. In this ad, showing a scene from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” specifically Act I, Scene II, the script has been altered ever so slightly to include this line, said to Hamlet by the king. “And try, Schlitz Milwaukee Beer.” I certainly don’t remember that line from the original. Maybe I’ve been seeing the wrong version all these years.
Sunday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1900. In this ad, the story of the Schlitz Brewery’s honest is told, that and how “Purity Built It.” That, along with the illustration of pure-looking woman astride an unusually large bottle (unless she’s extraordinarily diminutive) and holding up another symbol of purity, the flower.
