Battle of the Coffee Giants – November 4, 1964

There must have been a fierce coffee brand war a-brewing back on November 4, 1964. How else can you explain two major brands both unveiling a special promotion in the same edition of the Journal?

First up in the paper on page 27 was this ad for Chase & Sanborn Coffee, announcing a special 100th anniversary company promotion. For a limited time, its coffee came in a cannister designed to look like an "American Drum" 

It doesn't appear to tie in with a specific war, but I'm guessing it more closely resembles a Civil War drum than anything else.

And just a few pages away on page 34 of the Journal, Maxwell House was offering a free coffee pot in which to make its instant coffee.

What, no special Hills Bros. (my parents' favorite) promotion?

Anyway, there doesn't appear to be any surviving Chase & Sanborn drum canisters on eBay. But the drum design must have been a good gimmick, as there are some other coffee cans (including one for Folger's) with the same idea. 

As for Maxwell House, the free pot must have been a long-running promotion, as many of them survived, albeit with slightly different graphics. The drawback of this promotion was that you could peel off the label – turning the pot into a generic one.

Today, both Maxwell House and Chase & Sanborn are still around.  

Maxwell House (owned by Kraft Heinz) is still aggressively marketed, with a great variety of products and blends. Here's the link to its website. 

On the other hand, Chase & Sanborn is part of Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA and has no website of its own, except for an ordering site. Its corporate overlord also owns and markets Hills Bros. and Chock full o'Nuts. Both have nicely designed websites.

Now, don't you feel like having a cup of coffee?