Thursday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1948. The tagline, “A classic flavor,” is reinforced — I guess — by the beer’s proximity to a shelf of books which one supposes must be classic books, especially with the bust of Shakespeare holding up the books.
Beer In Ads #664: Man’s Best Friend
Thursday’s ad is for Schlitz from 1951. It’s a great illustration showing a man painting a chair yellow. A dog has come up to him holding a bottle of Schlitz in its mouth, while a woman — his woman? — looks on from afar. Man’s best friend indeed.
Beer In Ads #661: You Wouldn’t Think It Possible!
Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1945. It’s a surreal ad, with a little magic role reversal. Instead of the magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat, a giant bunny, wearing a tuxedo, has pulled the magician out of his top hat, though at least he has a bottle of Schlitz in his hand, too. I imagine the magician is thinking he’s probably had quite enough to drink if he’s seeing scary giant rabbits.
Beer In Ads #612: Real Gusto
Tuesday’s ad is from 1953, for Schlitz. The double-truck ad shows an engaging stadium beer seller pouring two bottles Schlitz into paper cups at the same time. I’ve always liked the look of those Schlitz bottles, and the labels look so shiny.
Beer In Ads #597: Hot Dogs & No Harsh Bitterness
Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1954. This one is also football-themed, with a man at the game, being poured two beers from cans to wash down the hot dogs, already in his hands, as his significant other waits with the blanket and a pennant in the background.
Beer In Ads #580: Beer Was First Brewed In A Hut
Friday’s ad is yet another old one for Schlitz, this one from 1912, and is, like the last two, touting brown bottles as the best package for beer. I have to admire the effort to educate consumers to think about the package their beer came in, something craft brewers did again roughly 70 years later. And I love this bit of chutzpah. “As civilization advances — so do the sales of “Schlitz in Brown Bottles.”
Beer In Ads #579: Don’t Say “Beer”! Say— “Schlitz”
Thursday’s ad is another old one for Schlitz, this one from 1911, and is, like yesterday’s, touting brown bottles as the best package for beer. They list a number of reasons why Schlitz is such a great beer, and some of the reasons are priceless:
- Our barley is selected by one of the partners in our business.
- We go to Bohemia for hops.
- The water is brought from rock 1,400 feet under ground.
- Not only is Schlitz beer filtered through white wood pulp, but even the air in which it is cooled is filtered.
- It is aged for months is glass enameled tanks.
- It cannot cause biliousness.
- It will not ferment in your stomach.
And the ads final words are the same as yesterday’s, urging people to choose Schlitz because they know best. “If you knew what we know about beer, you would say ‘Schlitz—Schlitz in Brown Bottles.'”
Beer In Ads #578: Beer Keeps Best In Brown Bottles
Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz from 1912, and is touting brown bottles as the best package for beer. I don’t imagine UV light was as well understood a century ago, but Schlitz assures us that even then “chemists of this country as well have repeatedly warned against the possible dangers to purity following the use of light glass bottles.” And I love this gem. “Dark bottles only are used for beer in Germany and England.” Many? Undoubtedly. Most? Probably. Every brewery? Hmm, I’m sure someone can speak to the veracity of that claim, but I tend to think absolute claims are a bad idea. You can find an exception to almost anything. And I especially love their final words, urging people to choose Schlitz because they know best. “If you knew what we know about beer, you would say ‘Schlitz—Schlitz in Brown Bottles.'”
Beer In Ads #547: Some Day All beer Cans Will Open This Easy!
Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from the 1960s, when they debuted the “Aluminum soft top” can, which according to the ad was much easier to open than the “old hard way.” They billed it as the “world’s easiest opening beer can!” I’m not sure about their prophecy that “Some day all beer cans will open this easy!” Time seems to have passed by that innovation.
Beer In Ads #529: Go Ahead. Say It. Everybody Else Does.
Thursday’s ad is another one for Schlitz, this one from 1967. Using their iconic slogan “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer,” it’s presumably meant to be humorous. Showing an interesting contrast, with the patron in a black suit with a red tie while the serve sports a red suit, or at least jacket, with a black tie, they’re both looking longingly at the empy glass and bottle between them. Unfortunately, I don’t feel too badly for them, as I can see several taps in the foreground that undoubtedly have beer that is at least the equal of Schlitz.
And one other interesting tidbit stands out. “The beer takes 1,174 careful brewing steps.” Wow, that’s some very busy brewers. I’d love to see an itemized list of all those steps.
