Labatt Brewing Company Limited was founded by John Kinder Labatt in 1847 in London, Ontario (my mothers home town). Today it’s no longer a Canadian owned company but still very much part of Canadian life.

For this weeks post I wanted to show off some of the vintage advertising from it’s beginning days to the 1960’s when Labatt’s was still a Canadian brand. So please join me on this adventure down beer advertising lane.

The Vintage Advertising of a Canadian Beer Brand-Labatt’s

Cool Vintage Labatt Beer History (Source):

In 1847 the company produced 1,000 bottles of beer in its first year. Today, Labatt is a proud member of the global Anheuser-Busch InBev family and brews a total of about 10 million hectolitres annually – the equivalent of more than 350 million bottles of beer to customers across Canada.

In 1876, Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald proposed a “national policy” to protect domestic manufacturers from foreign competition. It was the same year that Labatt took on the competition at the World’s Fair in Philadelphia and proved that not all Canadian manufacturers needed protection: The fair attracted brewers from all over the world – but when the judging was done, Labatt had bested them all, when its India Pale Ale won the gold.

1932 Labatt received a powerful and instantly recognizable identity when its bright, bold red, aerodynamicly designed streamliner trucks first appeared.

When the Second World War broke out, Labatt stepped in and supplied “cold comfort” to soldiers fighting in Europe, North Africa and East Asia. They did the same during the Korean War, when Labatt sent its Anniversary Ale – which was subsequently renamed “50” (to celebrate it’s 50’s anniversary under the leadership of the grandson’s John S. and Hugh Labatt) – to the Canadian troops who were fighting for the United Nations.

1946- In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Labatt develops a program to train amputee veterans to be drivers; the instructor is Fred Hamilton, a World War I amputee.

Now it’s time for more vintage beer advertising!

1934 Print Ad. “Labatt’s India Pale Ale – When you serve Ale to people who know see that it’s brewed in the old country tradtion:.

Bottom’s Up! “Easy-Going ’50’ Ale”

1954-“For an UnBEARable thirst, there is only one cure…Labatt’s Pilsener.”

1954. “It’s lighter than Ale, it’s drier than lager”.

1955. “Mmmm! So Light!”

1958 “Friendly” Beer & Backyard Party.

Meet Me at the Fair! Expo 67 in Montreal Canada.

This last image is not an ad, but it was just so cool I had to share.

In the early 1940s, Labatt employees put together an official company songbook, which included the anthem “Glorious Beer” (Source). The below image is from 1942.

If any of my readers have heard this song, please share in the comments below I’m very curious to know what the words were. Thanks!

And that my friends is just a “taste” of Labatt’s Brewery so I hope you had fun learning a bit about this beer. If you are interested in learning more, please visit UWO’s full timeline website on this brand. It’s quite well done and very interesting. You can see it HERE.

Question time: What was favourite Ad (or image)? Have you heard of Labatt’s beer? Fan? Not a Fan? Share in the comments below!

Further Reading:

• Let’s Have A Beer! Vintage Beer Advertising
• It’s Vintage Oktoberfest Poster Time!
• Vintage Advertising Blog Posts

Liz