1906 Ad Anheuser-Busch Malt Nutrine Alcohol Sick Child - ORIGINAL CL4
CONDITION
This 105+ year old Item is rated Near Mint. Light aging throughout. No creases. No natural defects. No surface rub. No tears. No water damage.
- Product Type: Original Print Ad; Black / White
- Grade: Near Mint
- Dimensions: Approximately 5.5 x 8 inches; 14 x 20 cm
- Authentication: Serial-Numbered Certificate of Authenticity w/ Full Provenance
- Protection: Packaged in a custom archival sleeve with an acid-free black board (great for display, gift-giving, and preservation)
Anheuser-Busch.
The legendary Anheuser-Busch company began in 1860, when Eberhard Anheuser obtained a small and failing Bavarian Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. A few years later, Anheuser was joined by his son Adolphus Busch, who introduced pasteurization in efforts to extend the beerÕs shelf life, as well as purchased a string of refrigerated railway cars; thus establishing an effective means to distribute the companyÕs products throughout the United States. By 1876, Anheuser had created AmericaÕs first national beer: Budweiser. In 1896, the company introduced its brand of Michelob. During the 1800s, the company established 19 beer brands (compared to 38 in 2000). Grateful to his son for all of his innovative efforts, Anheuser renamed the company Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879.
The Anheuser-Busch Company created a successful business model early on. Their primary philosophy was advertising continuity, whether in good times or in bad, the company would accommodate and cater to the changing societal tides. Anheuser-Busch employed further philosophies, which included high distribution to saloons, creating higher quality beers than competitors, employing an army of traveling salesmen and a vast inventory of promotional giveaway items, such as walking sticks, hat clips, fine china and beer tokens. The final philosophy centered squarely on advertising and included widespread advertisements in national magazines, play bills, literary journals, as well as promoting their products on buildings, billboards and railroad cars. The goal was to create brand recognition by placing Budweiser references in every place a potential customer could possibly look. The businessÕ philosophy was hugely successful, and by 1898, Anheuser-Busch had sold its 500 millionth bottle; thus spurring its ÒKing of BeersÓ motto that would be placed on packages and in advertisements thereafter.
True to its principles, Anheuser-Busch rolled with the changing tides and when the Temperance Movement threatened sales, the company began labeling their beers as a Òbeverage of moderationÓ and Òstrictly a family beverage.Ó The company survived, though only to be faced by another anti-alcohol movement: The Prohibition. During this time the company decided to render itself an influential force and began a year-long campaign, in which Anheuser-Busch inundated newspaper advertising space with messages on the struggle for personal liberty in U. S. History. Despite its efforts, the Prohibition remained in effect, so the company, true to its philosophy, produced a nonalcoholic beverage that tasted like beer: Bevo. The drink proved to be extremely popular among the masses. By the time the 1920s rolled around, Anheuser-Busch decided that in order to survive they must manufacture other nonalcoholic products; thus, the company began making ice cream, root beer, ginger ale, corn syrup, bakerÕs yeast, malt syrup (marketed as a baking ingredient), refrigerated cabinets, truck and bus bodies and nonalcoholic Budweiser. Upon the demise of the Prohibition in 1933, Anheuser-Busch survived, though other breweries, 50% in fact, were not so fortunate. In celebration, the remaining breweries bombarded the publishing industry with its advertisements. Anheuser-Busch did not. Instead, they smartly waited for the influx to die down, and August A. Busch, Jr. decided to celebrate the triumphant conquest in a different way by giving his father a team of Clydesdale horses hauling a beer wagon. Soon after, the Clydesdales became one of the companyÕs greatest promotional tools, and scores of Americans requested special appearances by the horses. Today, the Clydesdales continue to be featured in Anheuser-Busch ads.
Upon the onset of World War I, the company created the ÒSell America to AmericansÓ campaign, which featured patriotic themes, symbols and slogans in its advertisements. Anheuser-Busch also marketed its war efforts of selling vitamins, corn syrup, starch, yeast and diesel engines.
Advertising:
The companyÕs advertisements often compared its quality ingredients of barley, hops and malt with their competitors cheaper corn beers, as well as emphasize its own careful aging and brewing processes. Anheuser-Busch also frequently featured its medals, awards and praise received from brewing expositions and competitions around the world within its advertisements. Another example of how Anheuser-Busch remained strategically distinct was by requesting ÒBudweiserÓ be printed in large, wide and thick lettering during a time when narrow, thin and condensed fonts were most popular.
When radio programming reached households across America, Anheuser-Busch purchased air time on regional stations that broadcasted popular baseball games, and thus initiated the popular and effective practice of sports sponsorships. Soon enough, the television boom struck the United States and Anheuser-Busch quickly capitalized on the vast-reaching medium. In 1950, the company became the first brewery to sponsor a major network television show: The Ken Murray Show on CBS. The commercials featured the stars of the show drinking Budweiser while on camera. The tactic worked and, in the same year, the company began selling 5 million barrels annually. Anheuser-Busch once again exploited the reach of television in 1962, when it became a primary sponsor of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
In 1979, the company returned to the roots of its 1957 campaign, which promoted its beer to average Americans. The revamped campaign was called the ÒSalute to the workers,Ó and featured Americans, of various occupations, drinking a cold Budweiser at the end of their trying day. The campaign was so successful that the company employed it for ten years.
During the 1980s, upon pressure from anti-alcohol groups, Anheuser-Busch increased its long-standing public service works and initiated its ÒKnow when to say whenÓ campaign, which encouraged responsible drinking and fought underage drinking. The campaigns were well received, and the company received media coverage, increased funding and public accolades.
During the 1990s, Anheuser-Busch returned to its humorous and lighthearted advertising and employed such campaigns as the football playing Clydesdales, the Lizards campaign, the Wassup campaign, the Bud-Weis-Er Frogs and the Bud Bowl, which featured battling Bud and Bud Light bottles playing their own game of football during the 1989 Super Bowl. The Lizards campaign was deemed the most popular ad campaign ever by USA Today in 1998, while the Wassup campaign went on to win the gold Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in 2000.
Interesting Facts:
Adolphus Busch was notorious for replacing his business cards with a knife that had the company name engraved on it, as well as a portrait of Busch himself that was visible inside a small peephole.
During the Prohibition when Anheuser-Busch came out with its non-alcoholic products, the malt syrup it produced was soon discovered by the public as a primary ingredient used in making an especially delicious home brew, an area not yet touched by the Prohibition.
OÕDoulÕs was the best-selling nonalcoholic beer in 1997.
Anheuser-Busch was the exclusive beer sponsor of the 2004 Olympic Games.
Anheuser-Busch is accredited with sale of more than 30 million six-packs in 60 days, as well as establishing a strong tie between the brewery and supermarkets.
Copyright 2016, Period Paper LLC
Keywords specific to this image: St. Louis, Brewing, Mother and Child, Baby Vintage Advertising
CL4A3C06