John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

As the weekend approaches ..

"Payday came and with it beer." 
- Rudyard Kipling  

Beer, the hero

Did you know that Americans between them drink enough beer each day to fill most of an oil tanker. 

You do now. 

This infographic was made by Richard Darell for Bit Rebels. 

 

Will Ferrell does some advertising for ... Old Milwaukee?

Those who remember the beer strike in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1985 (if I have my dates right) will surely remember Old Milwaukee ... which quickly gained the nickname "Old Millwater" from less-than-impressed consumers who nonetheless took to the U.S. import as a crutch while the strike dragged on. 

Charitably, Old Milwaukee is called a "bargain" brand .. a polite way of saying that's it cheap, and there's a reason for it. 

I haven't paid much attention to the brand at all until I read that Will Ferrell, of all people, is not only doing commercials for Old Milwaukee (apparently out of affection for the label), but that they're airing in just a few markets. Have a look at one of them - it was probably done on a shoestring, but Ferrell makes the timing of a 30-second spot work right till the last split-second. 

How to serve a Stella Artois

Stella Artois makes some pretty good beer, and they're also behind some advertising that stands out. Below is a video meant to be passed around online, built upon a campaign theme of "9 Steps." 

 

The above mini-movie is one thing, but I actually prefer this spot from 2010, which goes out of its way to play up the character of ordering and serving a beer in a tavern.

My kind of wall art

If you've been up and down the stairs at the Duke of Duckworth, you've probably seen (perhaps bumped into, depending your speed and intake) this Guinness poster. 

Beer, sunshine

We darted out of the house this evening, to take advantage of full sunlight and a pleasant evening. We got to eat outdoors, too, and I took this shot of two glasses of beer, just after they arrived at the table. 

This is one of those July moments that will probably mean a whole lot more in February! 

Iceberg Beer

Last week, a few of my friends were talking about this particular line of beer from Quidi Vidi Brewery. It's a bit of special edition, I gather, in that it's not produced in mass quantities, and it doesn't last long when it's made.

The is the blue glass, I think, which fits a minimalist (by beer-box standards) style of packaging.

The beer's not bad, either. :)

A T-shirt for Saturdays

I spotted this one on the road recently. It has that nice "I'm off the clock" feel to it, no? 

Playing Hooky

I was given a book recently on international beers, and it makes for great reading, and dreaming ... if only because almost all of them are quite beyond my reach. But one can imagine. I love a lot of the names, like Old Hooky, a traditionally brewed beer from Oxfordshire.

 

 

Heineken shows them what social networking really means

"Heineken: Social networking since 1873."

This ad was rolled out a few months ago, and it's quite clever. But if you're like me, the H logo in the creative may have thrown you.

It turns out to be a Dutch social network called Hyves, which evidently must have top-shelf brand awareness at home.

 

Very potent (and unusual) beers

The world's strongest - and strangest - beers. I saw this infographic at Guy Kawasaki's Holy Kaw!

About the man who plays the Most Interesting Man in the World

I don't read magazines often, but when I do, I prefer The New Yorker.

That's a load of rubbish, of course ... not about the New Yorker, which I really do quite like, but the first part. I spend a fortune on magazines, and even though I let a subscription here or there lapse, and I have piles of magazines to recycle to other readers, I keep reading them.

This is a great little piece in The New Yorker's Talk of the Town section about the face of Dos Equis's long-running Most Interesting Man in the World campaign. (You know, "The police often question him, just because they find him interesting.") 

His name is Jonathan Goldsmith, and while sharks may not dedicate a week to him, he has had quite a life of his own. Check it out.   

Meanwhile, a list of things about that other guy .. in a clip reel for Dos Equis.

What beer should I drink? The flowchart

Pretty helpful, actually! Spotted here. Spotted here.