Hey gang! Guess what? It’s time for another post about beer commercials. With all the spots we post about the brewer’s art, you might think I’m some kind of a lush, but far from it. The real reason we post so many is because there is a seemingly inexhaustible supply of them waiting to be used. Your guess is as good as mine as to why that is. And anyhow, it’s a lot more challenging trying to find six or seven animated spots about pruning shears or replacement rubber heels.
Schmidt’s
Here’s another one from the Paul Fennell file. A lot of these Schmidt’s ads have beer lovin’ critters, and this one is no exception.
Narragansett
This spot and the following were both produced by Pelican Films, and feature the comedy styling of Elaine May and Mike Nichols. This one was animated by Bill Littlejohn.
Jax
Amazing semi-limited animation by Emery Hawkins.
A-1
Produced by Playhouse Pictures in 1956. Animated by Bill Littlejohn. Voices by Daws Butler and Billy Bletcher.
Falstaff
The Old Pro and Searchlight are back! Another one from Playhouse Pictures. Animated by Herman Cohen. 1958. Featuring Eddie Mayehoff.
Regal
This has to rate as one of the more ridiculous concepts in beer commercials. Mighty Marvin Miller tries to make the copy sound plausible, and it almost works. Almost.
Drewry’s
This 1962 spot combines live-action with stop motion, as well as cel animation. Don Williams animated the little man, and he shows some uncharacteristic restraint. This is likely because the cel animation would have been done last, and Williams had to match his work to the other bits of film.
Mike Kazaleh is a cartoonist and animator whose work can be seen in comic books like Bongo’s The Simpsons, Futurama and Papercutz’ Gumby – and on screen in Warner Bros. Tiny Toon Adventures, Ralph Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures and Cool World.
Thanks for this booze-batch, Mike. Bill Littlejohn is always a treat, but that Emery Hawkins spot—I can see what you mean when you say “semi-limited!”
The Schmidt’s ad: I think we saw saw Phineas’ birth father.
The Jax beer spots are well known in New Orleans where they were included in a WYES documentary about local TV commercials. Most interesting is that they were performed by Nichols and May.