THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
ADS - From Newspapers
BAVARIAN ADVERTISEMENTS
1946 - 1956
POST WORLD WAR II
With the end of WWII, service men returned back to the U.S., most eager to obtain jobs and have families. It was the start of a generation of children that became known as the Baby Boomers. Along with a strong economy after the war, more people were drinking beer and Bavarian was able to expand.
The Introduction of Bavarian's Old Style Beer With A New Slogan
To be more competitive with other local brewers, Bavarian decided to modify their marketing. In early 1946 they changed the name of their Bavarian Master Brand Beer to Bavarian's Old Style Beer. One of the first ads for this beer is shortly after WWII while beer ingredients were still in somewhat short supply, as shown below left. The main slogan with the introduction of this brand was "It's A Man's Beer." It may not be appropriate today, but in the late 1940's and early 1950's the vast majority of beer drinkers were men and the advertising agency that Bavarian used came up with this slogan. For its time, and over several years, this slogan was very successful.
Sports Are Emphasized
"It's a MAN's SPORT" was used in conjunction with "It's A MAN'S BEER." Shown directly below are ads from early 1947. Bavarian sponsored various broadcasts involving sports and a couple of these are shown in these ads.
In late 1947 Bavarian modified its borderless ads by having them framed. A couple of these are displayed below. However, a few years later, these ads changed the saying "It's a Man's Sport! A Man's Beer!" to simply "A Man's Sport!" A Man's Beer!"
From 1947 through 1952 Bavarian ran some smaller ads than than those shown above that not only featured "A Man's Sport", but occasionally "A Man's Job." Some examples of these are shown below. They were usually displayed in the Sports section of local newspapers.
In 1949 Bavarian ran a It's Here! ad promoting Bavarian's Old Style. They also used a similar ad around the same time to promote their beer in can, which featured a cone top. Bavarian's did not change to flat top cans until 1955.
In 1952 Bavarian provided ads with some illustrations emphasizing "Old Style" as in important part of the beer's name. Shortly thereafter, Bavarian filed suit against Heilman Brewing Company for also using the term "Old Style" to describe their beer. Also shown is an "It's Here" ad for Bavarian's Bock Beer.
Frequently Bavarian would indicate programs they were offering on radio or TV, and they would sometimes use some drawings, as shown below with a 1952 ad for a boxing event.
In the beginning of 1953 as sales for Bavarian began to decline, it was decided that it was necessary to begin to modify the slogan they had used for several years. The new saying became, "MAN, it Satisfies" - with a series of ads displayed below. These ads appeared in newspapers not only in Cincinnati, but in such other Ohio cities as Liverpool, Lancaster, Newark - and also in Lexington, KY.
Along with the larger MAN, it Satisfies! ads above, there were some smaller comical illustrations that Bavarian used as newspaper ads, mostly in Ohio markets smaller than Cincinnati. They addressed situations When A Fella Needs A Beer... Time for Bavarian's Old Style - MAN! It Satisfies!"
Midwestern Hayride
- Sponsored by Bavarian's Beer
Bavarian sponsored radio and television programs that not only featured sports, but that were also musical and entertainment oriented. One of the first programs featured on television when programming began in Cincinnati on February 9th, 1948 - on WLW-T, Channel 4, owned by Crosley Broadcasting, was Midwestern Hayride. Bavarian was the show's first sponsor and it aired at prime time in the early evening on Saturdays. (See 8B. Bavarian's TV/Radio Shows). Displayed is the cast of this show, followed by some ads for it.
This program originated on WLW radio in the 1930's and was called Boone County Jamboree at first, after a county next to where Bavarian was located - Kenton County, Kentucky. Before this program aired on TV in 1948 and simulcasted with radio its name changed to Midwestern Hayride. In the later 1950s it was simply called Hayride. Bavarian's was a pioneer in sponsoring regional prime time television broadcasting by sponsoring this country music program for about six years, until December, 1954.
To promote Midwestern Hayride, Bavarian often supplied newspaper advertisements of country singing stars who would be performing on the program that evening, beginning around 1950. A couple of these ads are below, and , several more featuring specific artists can be viewed in Bavarian's Radio / TV Shows. Also below is an ad featuring the popular square dancing that occurred on the show. Since Midwestern Hayride aired at prime time every Saturday evening, occasionally Bavarian would relinquish some of their show time for a national program, such as for a Bob Hope event, as indicated below. Also, to help fill some voids with national programming, Midwestern Hayride occasionally aired nationally during the 1950s.
...And Hers Too!
Bavarian's beer production peaked in 1950, after their acquisition of Heidelberg Brewing Co. in 1949. It then declined slightly in 1951 and 1952. However, Bavarian's sales decreased more markedly in 1953. Probably in response to these declining sales, Bavarian looked more closely at their advertising and made some changes. Beginning in the second half of 1953, Bavarian's decided that they needed to broaden the reach of their beer, and also cater to women. Even though men primarily drank beer with women only consuming about 10 to 15 percent, women often purchased beer. Bavarian didn't want to alienate women from buying or consuming their beer. So, they developed a transitory advertising theme with new marketing pitches in late 1953 oriented to women. The first ads that appeared in late 1953 indicated that women (in various cities) discovered a Man's beer. These ads were then followed by one that directly addressed the Mrs. shopping for her Man's beer. The ads then progressed, featuring just a woman, or a woman and a man, and a new slogan was developed: "A Man's Beer … And Hers Too!" To accommodate this saying, the packaging of cartons and cases added this phrase on cartons and cases as shown by the fourth ad below. This occurred in the spring of 1954.
Sponsoring A Variety of Television & Radio Programs.
In early 1955, besides changing their print advertising, Bavarian decided to also change their TV programming. Midwestern Hayride was dropped and Monday Night Fights was picked up instead. In conjunction with this fight night, Bavarian's developed a Poster Series of pugilists/fighters. The brewer also expanded their radio sponsorships. Below is a full page ad that appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer in March, 1955. It featured testimonials from local Cincinnati broadcasters that had programs Bavarian's sponsored. A summary of these different TV and radio programs is below. Individual images, signatures and comments for each broadcaster can be viewed in Bavarian's TV / Radio Shows. The invitation lists three TV shows and seven radio broadcasts on four different stations that Bavarian sponsored. Bavarian also became more active in sponsoring other TV shows as more households had televisions, e.g. Abbot & Costello, as shown in an ad.
A New Slogan
Despite the ...And Her Too! advertising theme, Bavarian continued to use their A Man's Beer slogan through 1954 along with Old style beer flavor. However, Bavarian eventually believed they needed to revamp their image and modify their advertising message. In early 1955, a different no nonsense type of theme was used, as displayed on the right, featuring Ray Hoffmann, the Bavarian's General Manager and V.P. However, these efforts were a temporary prelude to a new campaign that began later in 1955, as discussed below.
In mid-1955, Bavarian changed their slogan to "The Promise of Flavor... at its finest!" This slogan was shortened to "Flavor.. at its Finest" and "It's a Promise..." A secondary saying was "Beer at its absolute best!" These sayings are shown on the full page newspaper ads below. It references someone by the name of Thomas that claims Bavarian's has the finest flavor. In subsequent ads, the main theme is asking Thomas to Shoot the Promise - that Bavarian's is "Flavor at its Finest" and "Beer at its absolute best." Further below in a grouping of six Cincinnati beer bottles, it can be seen that the neck label of the Bavarian's bottle uses this expression of "Flavor...at its Finest." Along with this new advertising approach, Bavarian's also started using some "stars" around its name in these ads, and advertisement comments that sometimes referred Bavarian's as a (star) bright beer. This actually transferred over to a new type of backlit beer sign that displayed these stars on a blue background with Bavarian's Old Style name displayed all in yellow in 1955-1956.
RADIO JINGLES
Bavarian used music jingles in conjunction with its radio shows, and sporadically at different times of the day. A jingle featuring the "It's a Promise" slogan is displayed. You may need to tap the play button twice, not just once, to hear the jingle. Please see Bavarians Radio / TV Shows for some additional jingles.
Cincinnati Reds Billboard & Program Advertising at Crosley Field
Bavarian Brewing Co. was a longtime supporter of baseball. Baseball had been played in Covington since the 1870's. And their founder, William Riedlin had been an investor in the Covington Blue Sox, a professional team that had a short existence with the Federal League in 1913. After Prohibition, Bavarian sponsored an semi-pro baseball team that played in the greater Cincinnati area. Beginning in 1949, Bavarian's Old Style Beer was advertised at the home of the Cincinnati Redlegs (Reds), Crosley Field. It was on a billboard on top of the Superior Towel & Linen Service building in back of left field, and was once the largest billboard there. Bavarian maintained this billboard until 1965 and had their beer served at the ballpark along with advertising in the Reds programs. A photo of this billboard is below.
LOCAL CINCINNATI AREA BEERS IN 1956
Below are the main brands featured by the six breweries remaining in Greater Cincinnati in 1956. One of these, Redtop, went out of business by 1957, leaving only five brewers. As shown, these local beers in the Cincinnati area (especially after Redtop closed) had a similar appearance with mostly red with gold on white labels, and on brown bottles. To help increase sales, Bavarian believed they needed to do more to distinguish themselves from other beers. To rebrand their image, they made changes. Instead of having the same Director in charge of advertising, Bavarian appointed another Director, Louis L. Schott, as the Marketing Director, to be in charge of a new Advertising and Packaging Program in mid-1956. It resulted in a modification of the name of the beer and development of a new label and image. Bavarian's Beer was going to have a "New Look."
Bavarian went through a difficult time between 1953 and 1956 as they confronted sales declines and litigation with other brewers besides needing to modernize their main plant and modify their advertising. Consequently, in an effort to reduce some of their costs while they were reassessing their advertising, it appears they may have reduced their newspaper ads in 1956. The ads that did appear during this year seemed to promote television or radio programs oriented to the outdoors and sports. Examples of a couple of these ads are below.
Links to Bavarian ads for other periods are below.
1880s - 1919: Before Prohibition.
1935 - 1945: After Prohibition and before WWII.
1957 - 1966: After the Bavarian's modified their name - until they closed.
Bavarian's (Radio / TV) Shows: 1938 - 1950s
