Name that Nostalgicon! Week 3
Did you manage to figure out this week's Nostalgicon? It was Mr. Boh, representing National Bohemian Beer!
Founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1885, National Bohemian Beer has been a long standing brand and a key piece of Maryland's identity. In the 1960s, "Natty Boh" (as it is commonly referred to) became the official beer of Baltimore. Nearly 90% of Natty Boh's sales are in Baltimore. Today, National Bohemian is brewed under contract at the MillerCoors brewing facilities in Eden, NC and Albany, GA, and owned by Pabst Brewing Company. The brand was famously known for the slogan "The land of pleasant living," referring to the Chesapeake Bay.
A close relative of the Pringles guy
The brand's iconic mascot, the one-eyed, handlebar-mustachioed Mr. Boh, was first introduced in 1936. During this time Natty Boh's main competitor was Gunther Beer, who had the slogan, "Gunther's got it." When people asked: "What happened to Mr. Boh's other eye?" The answer would often be "Gunther's got it."
Natty Boh, throwing shade before it was cool
According to Dawson Farber, who was the Vice President of Natural Bohemian in the 1950s, no one has any idea why the famous icon only has one eye—but popular belief is that audiences are supposed to be viewing Mr. Boh from the side. The icon still appears on many cans, bottles, and nostalgic Maryland merchandise. The national line of "National Bohemian Dark" and "National Premium" were discontinued, however the recipe has been repurchased and rebottled starting in 2012 and can be purchased along the Eastern Shore of Maryland and local taverns in the Baltimore area on draft. Ah! Welcome to the land of pleasant living!
tags: Beer, Baltimore, Advertising, MBD Blog, brands, branding, Nostalgicons, Nostalgicon
categories: Nostalgicon
Posted by gretchen carswell
Top 6 Pride Ads of 2016 – Brands Show Their Pride
With June coming to a close, the festivities of gay pride throughout the nation may be coming to an end but not without the unforgettable memories Pride 2016 has left. The handfuls of glitter and rainbow flags flooding the streets of every major city, countless music concerts, and people of every origin made for quite the party this last month. Pride seems to outdo itself every year, and this year's celebration was one for the books. With all the anticipation, celebration, and public support, you may be wondering when did Pride get so big…and how? Good question. This June marks the first anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage. Alongside the progression of social reform through a political platform, the media has been a huge factor in the awareness and support of the LGBT community. Brands such as Cheerios, AT&T, Target, and many more have produced TV ads, viral internet videos, and even have products surrounding the LGBT Pride theme. We chose our top six (because Pride Month is in June, after all.)
#6–GOLDFISH
This summer, Pepperidge Farm is creating a new campaign launch for Goldfish Crackers using a multicolored fish logo and the #ForAllFamiles moniker. This support comes from the connection between more same-sex couples adopting children and knowledge that Goldfish is the number one cracker brand among kids. Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm have been sponsors of Pride parades for years, including 2016 parade in NYC, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, the Twin Cities and Norwalk, CT. Pepperidge Farm and its parent company, Cambpell's Soup Company, have a long history of gay inclusion and have been listed as one of the "Best Places To Work" as ranked by the Human Rights Campaign in the Corporate Equality Index.
#5–TARGET
Target is another big brand that jumped at the opportunity to show their support for the LGBT community. Taking a more serious tone on things, the brand produced an ad talking about the importance of "being heard, being seen, and being accepted." With a montage design from LGBT community members of every race, religion, and ethnicity, Target pulled at their viewers' heart strings by reminding everyone to take pride in who they are.
#4–AIRBNB
Airbnb developed this short film after hearing from one of their employees concerned about where to go on their gay honeymoon. While same-sex marriage is gaining more and more acceptance, there are still real dangers when traveling domestically and abroad. This film uses real couples telling their stories of travel and love, using #HostWithPride. Airbnb says, "As open doors lead to more open minds, as people of different backgrounds come together over dinner tables to accept each other and welcome strangers as friends, we can look forward to creating a world of more acceptance, together. And that is something truly worth celebrating."
#3–AMERICAN EXPRESS
These full page ads in the The New York Times the morning of the New York City pride parade and marks the first campaign American Express has done directly supporting the LGBT community. The couples featured in the print executions are real American Express card members that submitted to a casting call. The photos featured are also real photos that the couples' already had and submitted to appear in the work. The work is also a subtle nod to the Supreme Court ruling and paper being the traditional gift for a first wedding anniversary. These print ads are part of a larger Pride campaign from American Express titled "#ExpressLove". They've included Twibbons available on Twitter to add to your profile image. American Express will feature more couples and executions of the work on its social media channels. The larger #ExpressLove campaign, which runs until November, will be in 11 markets including New York, San Diego, Chicago, Provincetown, Mass., Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Calif., Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle.
#2–ANDROID
Another brand that showed their support for the LGBT community this past month was Android. The brand released an ad consisting of cartoon characters of not only your everyday pride goers, but celebrities who are part of/support the LGBT community. Some of the included celebrities were Tom Daley, Jessie-J, and Sam Smith! The ad came to a close with the headline "Let's party for pride!" Followed by the slogan "Be together. Not the same."
#1–SKITTLES
For this year's Pride celebration, Skittles released a temporary packaging design uniquely created for the LGBT community. The brand's very popular and well-known slogan "Taste the Rainbow," has been the product's long standing catch phrase emphasizing the variety of colors their candy comes in. Playing on this theme, Skittles decided to create an all new design consisting of completely white packaging rather than their very colorful previous packaging. So why the change? Skittles wanted to emphasize that there should only be one rainbow deserving the center of attention, and that rainbow belongs to the LGBT community. Skittles gained a lot of attention and praise for this creative idea in support of Pride, and the brand seems to have won over the hearts of many LGBT members. #onerainbow
With more and more brands coming out to support Pride every year, it leaves us wondering who will be the most creative company in 2017 to show their support of the LGBT community. What are your favorite Pride ads from 2016? And who would you want to see showing support for the LGBT community? With all this support for Pride it may make you wonder why some brands don't show as much support for the LGBT community throughout the year…should this be a topic of change? All good questions and topics for the highly anticipated Pride Month 2017. Let us know about your thoughts and keep the conversation rolling; and don't forget to mark your calendars for next June, it's a month long celebration you won't want to miss.
tags: pride, LGBT, #pride, Advertising, #forallfamilies, Goldfish, American Express, #expresslove, skittles, #onerainbow, android, target, #takepride, airbnb, #hostwithpride, Top Pride Ads, Adweek, MDB, MBD Blog
Posted by Writer