Beer - the Beverage of Moderation

I came across this beer ad while perusing the September 1955 issue of Life Magazine. It’s the sort of thing we usually see when an industry is under attack for the quality or impact of their product. Today we’re treated to television spots white washing high fructose corn syrup, fracing, and clean coal. Apparently, the brewing industry felt it needed to gussy up its image in the 50s with a bit of wholesome square-dancing. When you look at these ads you can always tell what the manufacturer is trying to hide – corn syrup isn’t natural or good for you, fracing is destroying the environment for energy that largely will be shipped overseas, and clean coal isn’t clean at all. The tag line “America’s beverage of moderation” leaves me thinking there was a push against drunkenness in the mid-50s. It probably was part of the Beaver Cleaver-izing of the nation – the push toward white-bread sameness and squelching of anything that didn’t fit neatly into the pre-drawn lines. Then again, it’s hard to argue in favor of public drunkenness, isn’t it?