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The phrase “I’ve got something special… Ask me!” is likely in relation to a popular advertising campaign by Heileman’s Beer or the G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Heileman’s Special Export Light gained popularity in the 1980s, with Heileman’s Brewing creating a variety of pinback buttons, patches, and other merchandise for their beer selection throughout the mid-20th century. Utilizing phrases such as “Ask me about Heileman Light,” and the “I’ve Got Something Special – Ask me!” motif, these items were often intended as flair for bartenders and servers in order to promote the sale of their brand's brews. Heileman’s was eventually acquired by Pabst Blue Ribbon, who as of June 2025 continues to oversee the popular brands and intellectual holdings associated with G. Heileman Brewing.

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Produced for Club 20, "The Voice of Western Colorado Since 1953”. The slogan “I’m A Friendly Native. Ask me”, also found on posters and stickers, appeared in the area during the 1960s. The friendly “natives” were the local residents spread across the region's 30,000 square miles. Club 20 is a non-profit organization that provides a unified voice for 22 western Colorado counties in matters of local, state, and federal issues. The coalition is composed of individuals, businesses, tribes, and local governments and features ten policy committees that include: Agriculture, Business Affairs, Education & Workforce Development, Energy, Health Care, Public Lands & Natural Resources, Telecommunications, Tourism, Transportation and Water.

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“Ask me!” is often seen on signs, pin back buttons, or badges worn by staff as a signal to the patron to ask the staff any question he or she may have about the establishment, its products, and information it provides. This button is likely from a realty agency, HOA, or apartment/condo association and could signal potential customers to ask a question about a specific location the person lives in.

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In 2024, this button became the subject of a podcast episode, when a librarian named Casey Koss became obsessed with finding the person who made it.  Koss first came across the button while working as an intern, researching unidentified buttons in the Busy Beaver Button Museum’s collection. 

After years of unsuccessful attempts to find any information about the business listed on the curl text, Koss contacted Alex Goldman’s Hyperfixed podcast for help.The podcast team discovered that the button had not been made by a restaurant, but by a former Busy Beaver employee named Nick Rouley.

When asked why he made it, Rouley explained that – as a collector of buttons and other historical ephemera – he’d always been drawn to the kind of weird objects that compelled him to ask: Why did somebody make this? So Rouley decided to make a button that would someday elicit that feeling in someone else. He added the curl text to give it the appearance of authenticity, and left two copies of the button at the museum, hoping someone would find it someday.  

When contacted about the button, nearly 15 years after its creation, Rouley told the podcast team: “This is a dream come true.”

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ERA is the Equal Rights Amendment, which is a Constitutional Amendment started in the 1970s to create equal rights for women. This button is worn by supporters of the amendment to prompt conversation and inquiries into a conversation about gender, equality, and the amendment itself. To date, the amendment has not met the requirements for passage, but its supporters continue to gather support.

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A campaign promotion by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages patients; “It’s OK to ask” their healthcare providers to do more to reduce healthcare facility infections through better clean hand hygiene. 

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The Meat Puppets are an American rock band who were active primarily during the 1980's to the early 2000's. "Scum" was the first single from their "No Joke" album, as well as the only one from the album to have a music video. The image featured on the button is of the same character shown on the cover of the album. 

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The Cambridge Diet is a "fad diet" during which an individual only consumes 600 to 1500 calories per day. These calories usually come from liquids, which are part of the diet regimine. It was developed in England in the 1970's by Dr. Alan Howard. In the 1980's, the diet gained popularity in the United States, but not without controversy.

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Jaycees is the commonly used nickname for the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, an organization that trains people aged 18 through 40 in developing personal and leadership skills. The Jaycees was established in 1920 to train men until 1984 when the Supreme Court prohibited sex discrimination.