Canada Dry Beverages Ad – May 5, 1955

Canada Dry Ginger Ale has been a favorite topic for me on this blog.

Why? Because my original 2013 write-up on the former Canada Dry Ginger Ale bottling plant facility on Colorado Avenue is my second most visited post of all time. That's more than 23,000 hits!

Actually, the hits are more likely related to the business that was located in the former plant: the Corner Store model railroad shop. Nevertheless, I like Canada Dry Ginger Ale (although I have  a six-pack of Vernors in the fridge right now) and enjoy writing about its advertising.

Speaking of which, here's a large ad for Canada Dry that ran in the Lorain Journal back on May 5, 1955. 

It's interesting that it's not advertising the famous ginger ale. It's promoting large bottles of the Canada Dry family of beverage flavors: root beer, 'true fruit' black cherry, imitation grape soda, and 'true fruit' orange. 

Here's a color magazine ad from 1955 giving us a good luck at the color scheme.

There was indeed something for every consumer's tastes: ginger ale, cola, root beer, cream soda, black cherry, orange and lemon-lime (their version was called Hi-Spot). And of course the famous mixers.

Here's another magazine ad, from only a few years later – 1961.

Looking at the ad, it's fascinating how much the Canada Dry advertising changed in so short a time. The little illustrations of formally dressed people were out – and photography was in. 

And the focus of the ad was different. It's not just a variety of flavors that was being promoted. Now, the ad was selling youth, a feeling, an attitude, a way of life.

Welcome to modern advertising.

Canada Dry Ad – April 26, 1951

Seventy years ago, Lorain had a facility on the east side that bottled Canada Dry Ginger Ale. So it's not surprising to see Lorain Journal ads for the fizzy concoction like the one above, which appeared in the paper on April 26, 1951.

My blog entry about the Canada Dry bottling plant at 1251 Colorado Avenue in Lorain continues to be the second most-visited post since the blog began in 2009. Here's the link to that 2013 post that has had more than 27,000 views. 

I’ve made several pleas over the years trying to find out just what brought visitors to that post. I’ve come to the conclusion that it was Mr. James R. Edwards, mentioned in the post as the well-known owner/operator of the Corner Store (where he sold and repaired model trains) at the former bottling location.

But getting back to the 1951 ad. 

It’s always nice to see old pop bottles from the days when they had the graphics printed on them, and they could be returned for a deposit. It was a much more environmentally friendly system than what we have now. (Plus it gave those of us who went looking for old pop bottles in fields a little pocket change, after we washed the mud out of them and returned them.)

The Canada Dry bottles were especially attractive, with the map of Canada and the regal graphics. Here’s one from the early 1950s, similar to the ones in the Journal ad.

And here’s another ad from the “Best of Them All” campaign. This one ran in the Journal on November 30, 1950.

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Canada Dry has been the subject of many posts on this blog.

Canada Dry Ad Featuring Esther Williams – July 6, 1956

Canada Dry has been a regular topic on this blog for some time.

Inexplicably, my 2013 post on the old Canada Dry bottling plant on Colorado Avenue remains one of my most-visited, with 576 page views this month, and 15,664 views total – making it second in popularity only to my post about the American flag painted on the old quarry overlooking Route 2.

I sure wish I knew why.

Anyway, I still like to post vintage Canada Dry ads that appeared in the Lorain Journal, and the one below features a celebrity: Esther Williams. The huge ad included a photo of her sons Benjamin and Kimball, and appeared in the paper on July 6, 1956.

Here’s a color version of the same ad that ran in the magazines later that year. It has a different glamour shot (of the bottles, not Miss Williams). There are other, subtle differences such as the cropping of the pool photo.

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Speaking of Esther Williams, my favorite movie of hers is Dangerous When Wet (1953). Why? Because it features a cute cameo of our old pals Tom & Jerry swimming with her in an extended fantasy sequence created by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbara.

MGM's promotion for the movie included some great publicity photos of the famed cat and mouse team and Miss Williams. 

Canada Dry Ad – Feb. 27, 1958

I know, I know – I should just rename this blog “Brady’s Beverage Blog.”

I do spend a lot of time writing about ginger ale, whiskey and soda pop. But, a blog has a ravenous appetite – or, more appropriately, an unquenchable thirst – for daily material that must be satisfied. And since Lorain County was the home of so many bottlers, I enjoy writing about the many national products that were produced here for decades.

And so, to close out February, here’s today’s topic: an ad for Canada Dry Ginger Ale’s Golden Anniversary promotion that ran in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 27, 1958. It’s a neat, Willie Wonka-ish gimmick in that consumers looked for special gold bottle caps. When they collected three of them, the caps could be redeemed for 30 cents – enough to buy a family-sized bottle of you-know-what.

It’s the whole ‘golden anniversary’ angle that had me a little puzzled. Traditionally, ‘golden’ meant fifty years, and Canada Dry Ginger Ale seems to date back to 1904 (the year it was created) or 1905 (the year the name “Canada Dry” was registered. But it appears that the promotion used the year that it was first shipped to the United States (1908).

Anyway, since I’ve written a lot about ginger ale in the last few months, it has also become a topic of conversation at work.

One co-worker thinks I’m all wet when it comes to my preferences in ginger ale (Canada Dry or Vernors). He much prefers the smooth taste of Seagram’s, especially in his highballs.

I’ve got to admit, Seagram’s is very good – very smooth. It’s not as sweet as Canada Dry. Plus it has a cool can design.

But the hoser in me keeps me reaching for Canada Dry.

By the way, that original blog post about the former Canada Dry bottling plant on Colorado Avenue is currently the second-most visited entry of all time here on the Brady Blog with 13,695 page views. (That’s second only to the post about the American flag painted on the cliff overlooking Route 2.)

I only wish I knew why.

Canada Dry Ad – Dec. 19, 1959

I found this ad (which appeared in the Lorain Journal on December 19, 1959) interesting, because it identified the name of a drink that I like to make at home. That is, I like to add some Canadian Club to my Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale for a nice, Canadian-themed drink.

According to the ad, that drink is called a highball. Gee, I’d heard of that drink but didn’t realize that was what I was making. Suddenly I feel very old.

Anyway, I have another reason for posting this ad.

One of the features of this blogger website is the ability to review statistics to see which posts get the most visits. And for some inexplicable reason, one of the most-visited posts that I have ever written is this one  from 2013 about the old Canada Dry bottling plant building at 1251 Colorado Avenue.

I don’t know why, but when I check my stats each week, that Canada Dry post is usually at the top of the heap. It had more than 500 visits in November. Why?

I can’t figure it out. Does anybody out there have any ideas?

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Here’s some information about the Canada Dry bottling plant on Colorado Avenue that I've found since that original post.

According to an article in the Lorain Journal on June 21, 1955, “Canada Dry Bottling Co. of Lorain was established here as a franchised carbonated beverage manufacturing firm in 1947.

“The company, which bottles Canada Dry beverages for Lorain, Huron and Erie counties, is owned and managed by David E. Mowrey.

“Mowrey is widely known in Lorain and is past president of the Lorain board of education.

“The firm employs five persons. Three large trucks are used for quick delivery service.”

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Our old pal, longtime blog contributor Bob Kovach sent me (as he put it) the "relic" at right. 

It's a well-worn piece of correspondence from the Canada Dry Bottling Company of Lorain, Ohio, Inc. to its customers, dated August 27, 1948.

The letter is on an elegantly designed masthead that shows some of its Canada Dry products at the time, including two I'd never heard of: Spur and Hi-Spot.

Spur appears to have been Canada Dry's cola product. Hi-Spot was a lemon-lime soda that probably competed with Seven-Up.

Thanks for sharing your find with us, Bob!

To visit a terrific vintage advertising website that includes a history of Canada Dry along with vintage labels and ads, click here. 

Canada Dry Bottling Co. on Colorado Avenue

May 9, 1957 Lorain Journal ad

Last week I mentioned that Canada Dry was one of the national soda pop brands bottled in Lorain. It was bottled by – what else? – the Canada Dry Bottling Company at 1251 Colorado Avenue (just west of the intersection with Kansas Avenue).

Coca-Cola's sprite boy

The ad above ran in the Lorain Journal on May 9, 1957. The layout with the kid's face peeking out from behind the bottle is vaguely reminiscent of ads featuring the well-known Coca-Cola sprite boy (at left).

But getting back to the Canada Dry ad. I love the look of awe on the kid's face as he eyes the bottle of pop. It's probably because pop was something that kids only got to enjoy occasionally back then. (While I was growing up, we only had pop on weekends – with Yala's Pizza on Friday night, and then maybe a root beer or Pepsi float on Saturday night.)

The ad's also interesting because I didn't know that Canada Dry made anything besides ginger ale and tonic water. By George, they slapped their name on a whole line of soda pop flavors!

Anyway, the Canada Dry Bottling Company first appeared in the City Directory around 1950. It continued at that address until the late 1960s. Edwards Garage and Towing took over the address around 1969 or so.

In the 1985 book, the towing company was joined by The Corner Store model railroad store (run by Jim Edwards) at 1249 Colorado. Then in the 1986 book the Edwards towing company disappeared and the model railroad store lasted until Jim Edwards passed away.

Here is the building at 1249 Colorado today (below).

I suspect that the Canada Dry Bottling Company was located there as well. Jim Edwards owned and operated both the towing business (which took over the bottling company address) and the model train company according to his obituary. Plus, the model train store sign was made out of an old Canada Dry sign (which is laying against the building in the above photo).

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UPDATE (Dec. 14, 2017)
Be sure to visit this new post about Canada Dry and the bottling plant on Colorado Avenue!

More Canada Dry Sign Recycling

Courtesy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/coreyu/

I've driven by this sign (above) on Colorado Avenue for the Corner Store many times, vaguely appreciating the classic lines of its shape. As a graphic designer, I like things that are clean and simple.

On Sunday, while driving by the sign once again, I finally recognized it for what it was. Just like the Nationwide Theatrical sign on Broadway, it must be a repurposed Canada Dry sign!

An example of just such a sign is shown at right from the flickr site of a gentleman who goes by the name coreyu. The photo is also part of a whole collection of flickr photos connected with Canada Dry.

Although I'm a regular Vernors drinker, once in a while you feel like something different, and that's when I reach for the Canada Dry Ginger Ale.

For a while, the U.S. version of Canada Dry packaging ditched the iconic map of Canada on its labels in favor of some generic mountains. But the company wisely went back to the classic map design when the whole corporate look was redesigned a couple of years ago.

But getting back to the Corner Store sign. Sadly, James R. Edwards, the proprietor of the store, passed away back in 2002. The place is pretty much boarded up.

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs...

After my post about the old Nationwide Theatrical Agency sign a few days ago, I received a nice email from longtime blog reader Raleigh.

Raleigh has helped me out in the past with some of his reminisces, and this time was no exception. His experience as an employee at the Ritter Sign Co. from 1974 - 1982 came in very handy.

"Looking at the National Theatrical Agency sign and photo, it was apparent to me that this sign had a former life," he noted. "It was common practice for a sign company to give new life to a once used sign by washing the paint from the inside of the plastic face and adding new copy to suit the new owner's needs. I think if you examine the sign closely, you will conclude, as I did, that this particular sign began life as a CANADA DRY sign."

By George, he's right! I can't believe I didn't recognize that distinctive shape, despite the fact that I buy Canada Dry once in a while.

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Raleigh also told me a few stories about working at the Ritter Sign Co. One of his work assignments left a stinging memory.

"I remember working in Elyria doing a "7up the Uncola" sign a la Peter Max (that will date me, huh?) on a wall and fighting off the wasps that had a nest in the wall with entrances to the nest in holes in the mortar," he related. He remembers painting that wall, which was fifteen feet above the roof top below, while waiting for the next attack.

During his time at the Ritter Sign Company, Raleigh and a fellow employee re-painted the well-remembered WELCOME TO LORAIN billboard that was on Route 58 (Leavitt Road) opposite the Emerald Valley Golf Course. That's Mike Zatroch on the left and Raleigh on the right in the photo (at right) that originally appeared in the Lorain Journal.

I remember that sign well. It would get a new look and color scheme once in a while, but the message was always the same about Lorain being Ohio's 10th largest city. Of course the sign is gone now, as that area has been extensively developed.

Special thanks to Raleigh for sharing his reminisces!