Schenley Whiskey Ad – May 27, 1954

Whiskey ads continue to be served up regularly on this blog, year after year.

Why? It's not that I'm a big whiskey drinker; a bottle can last me for years. But as I've noted many times, whiskey ads ran in the Lorain Journal just about every day in the 1950s, so I post one every once in a while. It's interesting how each one used a different approach to attract new customers.

Old Log Cabin has probably appeared in the most ads. (Incidentally, I contacted the company that produces it today, pointing out that I'm their biggest champion through my posting of their vintage ads on my blog. They even have an enlargement of one of them on display in their showroom! But they've ignored my emails, probably thinking I was some boozer trying to cadge a free bottle off them.)

I've featured a variety of other whiskey brands on this blog, including Corby's, Old Quaker, Golden Wedding, PM Blended Whiskey, J. W. Dant and Schenley. (By the way, Schenley Industries not only owned its own namesake brand, but Old Quaker and Golden Wedding as well.)

And here's another Schenley ad from the Lorain Journal of May 27, 1954. It's pretty unusual in that it uses a cartoon character (a Kentucky Colonel type) to make its case – something that would be taboo today.

It's a soft-sell ad, gently cajoling the reader to consider Schenley's skill and patience during the manufacturing process to make their product the 'best-tasting whiskey in ages."

Despite the Colonel's charming appeal, the brand doesn't appear to exist today. This interesting blog tells how Schenley grew to become the largest producer of spirits in the U. S. by the mid-1940s, but ended up getting sold in the late 1980s and ceasing to exist as a company.

So I guess I won't be trying to weasel a free bottle of whiskey off them.