It’s Friday! Procrastinate and countdown to happy hour with these lovely bits!

As 5 o’clock nears, my fancy turns to thoughts of beer. Whilst working on the 1999 Project and listening to old WFAN audio, I’ve heard many ads for Rheingold, the Brooklyn-based brew revived in the late 90s.

I love old beer commercials. They’re so festive and fun, without being aimed at the Complete Slob Market. And yet, they’re clearly advocating that you enjoy their product constantly. Check out this commercial from 1950. I can’t imagine how many man-hours this reqiured in the pre-CGI era. And how many cans and bottles of brew were sacrificed to make it a reality.

Rheingold also some great ads during its latter day phase, such as this one from 2004, which struck against some of the ridiculous Giuliani/Bloomberg “quality of life” crusades.

Sadly, Rheingold is no longer with us. So pour some on the curb for it tonight. Oh wait, you can’t. Dammit.