Buckeye Beer Ads – January 1954

This vintage bottle is currently on eBay

Buckeye Beer, the Toledo-based brew that dates back to 1836, has been the subject of a few blog posts as the brand was featured occasionally in advertisements in the Lorain Journal in the 1950s and early 1960s. The ad campaigns I saw were quite creative and made good use of illustration.

This clever series of Buckeye Beer ads (below) ran in the Lorain Journal during January 1954. Although only six ads are shown, amazingly, the ad campaign featured a different one each day of the month. They always appeared in the Sports section on a left hand page, and always in the lower right corner. Each ad depicted a frustrated man – in trouble with his wife, performing an unpleasant duty, engaged in an annoying sports situation – who needs to 'buck up' with a Buckeye Beer. 

Most of the ads in the campaign were drawn by cartoonist Walt Ditzen, who enjoyed a fine career with his nationally syndicated 'Fan Fare' sports strip. Ditzen had a great, funny style. Of the ads shown above, he did all but the one of the man losing at checkers to a little kid.

Buckeye Beer Ad – Sept. 1, 1961

Yesterday’s post featured a Journal front page from Labor Day weekend 1961. Perhaps during that same holiday, some thirsty Lorainites reached for a cool, refreshing Buckeye Beer – the subject of today’s post. 

Above is a baseball-themed ad for the Toledo-based brew that appeared in the Journal back on Sept. 1, 1961. It’s a cute ad with its anthropomorphic beer bottles, announcing that the Firelands Distributing Company was making draft-brewed Buckeye Beer available in Lorain and Elyria.

Regular readers of this blog know that I like to post vintage beer ads, especially Old Dutch and Black Label. I’ve featured Buckeye Beer before, including a 1956 ad (here).

Since my last post, the Maumee Bay Brewing Company (Toledo’s original craft brewery) is still producing its revived version of Buckeye Beer. The vintage label (at right), however, has been abandoned in favor of one (below) that conforms to the brewery's corporate brand.

Buckeye Beer Ad – July 2, 1956

Keeping the beer theme going for another day, here’s a cute ad for Buckeye Beer that ran in the July 2, 1956 Lorain Journal.

Buckeye Beer? I’d never heard of it before; it would have been a natural for pre-game festivities back when I was at Ohio State in the late 70s. But the brand had ceased to exist around 1974.

Happily, though, the brand made a comeback in the mid-1990s thanks to the Maumee Bay Brewing Company. (Click here to read a great article about the beer’s history and comeback on the Toledo.com website.)

Anyway, I love the illustration of the smiling sun and wholesome young couple.