My hat's off to the folks at Schlitz - and their ad agency - for their unfailing commitment throughout the 50's to the use of illustration in their extensive print campaigns. Having flipped through a lot of magazines to find this week's selection of images I can tell you, no other beer brand even came close in terms of sheer volume of ads, use of illustration over photography or willingness to experiment with a variety of styles and page designs. Just take a look at this selection of ads...
John Falter, a favourite of the brewmeisters at the USBF, did several ads for Sclitz in the early 50's.
But around the same time, the brewer was experimenting with a bold, designy look reminiscent of the work Thomas Vroman was doing.
I found another of the '54 series, likely done by Joyce Ballantyne.
But later that same year Sclitz switched it up for a brighter, more open, more contemporary approach. This one's by Tran Mawicke...
...and here's one from '56 by Chicago-based illustrator, Tom Hall. Hall must have been a favourite of the client's, as he did quite a few of these.
That same year, Schlitz used another Chicago artist: The style of this piece (below) tells us it must have come out of Haddon Sundblom's studio.
The following year saw Sclitz use humorous styles by the likes of Frederick Siebel...
...and Jan Balet.
All of these are now available to be examined at full size in my Beverages Flickr set. Be sure to check out the top piece by Stan Ekman; and make note of the artist's self-portrait, enjoying a Schlitz-break from painting the painting for this ad!
nice find! Your house must be one giant fire hazard with the collection of magazines you own :)
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