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Category: Vintage Canada

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

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.

Labatts London Ale Vintage Beer Advertising
Source: Wikipedia

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.

1919 Labatt Beer vintage advertising
1919 Ad. Source: Tavern Trove

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.

Vintage John Labatt Ale & Stout advertisement from the 1970's.
Source: Strategy

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

1930s Vintage Truck: Labatt's Brewing Company 1939 tractor trailer beer delivery truck
Source: Pinterest
Labatt's delivery truck vintage truck as seen at Expo 86 in Vancouver, BC.

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.

1950s Vintage Ad for Labatt's 50 Pale Ale Beer featuring an illustration of men and women sailing.
Source: Brookston Beer Bulletin

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.

1940s vintage photo: Labatt's brewing amputation driver training program 1946
Source: UWO.ca

Now it’s time for more vintage beer advertising!

1950s /1960s vintage ad for Labatts 50 Ale Beer featuring an illustration of people
Source: Pinterest

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:.

Labatt's 1934 vintage beer ad
Source: UWO.ca

Bottom’s Up! “Easy-Going ’50’ Ale”

Labatts 50 Ale Beer vintage alcohol advertising
Source: Retro Metal Signs

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

1950s Vintage Ad: Labatt's Pilsener Beer John Labatt Ltd. London Ontario Canada

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

1950s vintage ad for Labatt's Pilsener Beer (1954)
Source: Tavern Trove

1955. “Mmmm! So Light!”

1950s Vintage Ad for Labatt Pilsener Beer from 1955.
Source: Tavern Trove

1958 “Friendly” Beer & Backyard Party.

1950s vintage ad for a 1958 Labatt's Beer advertisement featuring beer for your backyard BBQ.
Source: Brookston Beer Bulletin

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

1960s vintage ad for Labatt Beer at expo 67
Source: Expolounge

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!

Labatt Beer Songbook Vintage Advertising 1940s
Source: UWO.ca

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:

Liz

The Vintage Covers of the Canadian Tire Catalogue

There is an a vintage item on my want list that has been there for some time and it’s a vintage copy of a Canadian Tire Catalogue. Canadian Tire is a Canadian institution that has been around since 1922. It’s hardware store, meets car parts store, meets a home and garden store and I LOVE IT! Why? I have no clue, but I have been a loyal shopper for years and years and will continue as long as the store remains open.

Canadian Tire original mascot
Canadian Tire’s original mascots: a dollar coin and a tire on the run. Source: Auto Focus

As mentioned above they used to put out a catalogue of all their goods and services and while the more recent copies (up to 2008 when they discontinued them) were not too exciting, the vintage copies from 1920s to the late 1960’s are  colourful and fun and NOT what you are going to expect.

The Vintage Covers of the Canadian Tire Catalogue

The History of the Catalogue:

In 1926, Canadian Tire introduced their first catalogue / road map which featured a road map of Ontario and area on one side and advertised items for sale on the reverse.

1926 Canadian Tire Early Catalogue
Source: Auto Focus

The catalogue business continued to grow and the 1930’s saw Canadian Tire introduce it’s first “Spring and Summer”, “Fall and Winter” and “Radio” catalogues. Many other specialty versions of catalogues were issued over the years and by 1968 over 2.5 million copies were mailed to customers increasing to over 6 million copies by 2007. In 2008, Canadian Tire announced the end of an era, discontinuing their catalogue mailings after more than 80 years, however, 2011 did see the return of an automotive catalogue (Source).

Now without further adieu here are some fantastic examples of vintage covers up to the year 1969:


Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.


1935 Catalogue Collage. To see inside the full catalogue, visit this link HERE.

Canadian Tire 1935 Catalogue Collage Vintage
Source: Flickr

1939 Radio Catalogue. Look at that Font?! Totally nerding out on the graphic design right now.

1939 Canadian Tire Radio Catalogue
Source: Pinterest

1939 Canadian Tire Spring & Summer Catalog

1939 Canadian Tire Spring & Summer Catalog

Source: eBay

The Canadian Tire Catalogue Mascot and the “Cover Theme”:

A white haired old gentleman with a moustache made his debut on the cover of the 1941 “Spring and Summer” catalogue. Although he was never given a name, he was later featured with a young woman and his two sons for almost 30 years until the “Spring and Summer” catalogue of 1969 where they all had their last appearance as head shots only. Subsequent years featured products on the covers.

Note that most of the covers after 1941 also had a theme that was stated typically near the bottom.

1941 spring and summer canadian tire magazine vintage
Source: O Canada Blog

Wartime Catalogues: WWII saw some changes to the catalogues including the cover theme and there was no “Spring and Summer” catalogue issued in 1944. Canadian Tire came back with a 100 page catalogue in 1948-49 with a page 3 advertisment stating “Your first full-size C.T.C. catalog in more than five years” (Source).

Fall and Winter, 1941-42. “Need a hand dad?”

Vintage Canadian Tire Catalog 1941-2 Fall & Winter
Source: Etsy

Spring/Summer, 1942. It seems that on this cover, one son is in the service and the other is currently not. Do you agree?

1942 Spring Summer Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: Pinterest

1943. Sorry for the blurry image of this next photo but I could not find an alternative. Have both of our Mascots sons enlisted now?

1943 Canadian Tire Corporation Catalog WW2 wartime vintage
Source: Etsy

Fall & Winter Supplement, 1947-1948. I love the look inside one of the stores. So modern!

1947 Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue Mid Century
Source: Etsy

Still Going Strong. Spring and Summer, 1953.

1953 Canadian Tire Magazine Vintage
Source: Pinterest

Quick Pick-Ups with Mor-Power Batteries. Fall and Winter, 1953-1954.

Fall Winter 1953 1954 Canadian Tire Magazine Vintage
Source: CTC Collector

Fall Savings. Fall and Winter, 1955-56 (love the saddle shoes!).

1955-1956 Fall and Winter Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: CTC Collector

Surprising Values. Spring and Summer 1958.

Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue, Spring and Summer 1958
Source: Pinterest

It’s A Pleasure To Serve. Spring and Summer, 1959.

1959 Canadian Tire Catalogue Vintage
Source: eBay

Good Value – And No “Misteak“. Spring and Summer 1961.

1960s Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue Cover
Source: Pinterest

Tickling Values. Fall and Winter Catalogue, 1960-1961.

1960s Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: CDR

Pleasurable Leisure. Spring and Summer 1963.

Spring and summer 1963 Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: CTC Collector

A Family Affair. Spring and Summer 1966.

Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue, Spring and Summer 1966
Source: Pinterest

Question Time: Did you have a favourite Cover from this collection? Do any of my readers who their own vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Want your own piece of Canadian History? Some of the items on eBay, Etsy and the CTC Collector were for sale at the time of this blog post, so you might be able to snag your own catalogue.

Further Reading: Vintage Magazines & Catalogs 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)

Liz