A photograph of a dog riding a wave on a red surfboard with white and yellow text on a blue background. 

Bud Light used Spuds Mackenzie, a Bull Terrier, as a marketing device in the late 1980s. The dog’s first appearance was at the 1987 Super Bowl XXI. The advertising executive Mitch Meyers created the Spuds Mackenzie character. The terrier was controversial because it was a female dog portraying a male dog and also because of the dog’s appeal to children. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization was just one organization to pose the allegations that Anheuser-Busch was marketing their product to minors through Spuds Mackenzie. The dog was so popular that she had started to overshadow the product so after only two years of advertisements the decision to remove her from commercials was made. 

Here a couple of commercials where Spuds Mackenzie can be seen in action: commercial one, commercial two.

As you can see from this button, Spuds Mackenzie merchandise was also very popular during the life of the advertising campaign. 

White text on a red background. 

Jacob Schmidt created Schmidt beer in the late nineteenth century after he purchased a half interest in the North Star Brewery in St. Paul Minnesota. The brewery was located on Commercial Street and Hudson Road. Schmidt’s daughter and son-in-law took over the brewery’s operations after Schmidt retired in 1899. Not long after the company changed hands it burnt down. Nonetheless a new brewery was constructed in 1901 and the new facility was named the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company.

During prohibition the company suffered but ultimately created non-alcoholic malt drinks that were very popular. The beer’s slogan is “Official Beer of the American Sportsman.” Most of the marketing for the brand draws upon the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest with Grizzly Bears catching Salmon. “I’m a Schmidtpicker” was an advertisement campaign that ran in the mid to late 1970s.

White text in a red box is surrounded by red text and red stars in a curved formation on a white background. 

The Schlitz brewing company began in 1849 when August Krug began brewing beer in the basement of his restaurant. Krug, a German immigrant, had his restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1850 Krug hired a twenty-year old German immigrant named Joseph Schlitz to be the accountant for the restaurant and brewery. After Krug passed away in 1856 Schlitz renamed the brewery Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company.

The Schlitz Company has interesting ties to Chicago. The company sent thousands of barrels of beer to the city after the Chicago Fire of 1871. Furthermore, the slogan “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous” was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. The company became the largest brewery in the world in 1902, producing over 1 million barrels. Although the company had some rough patches during prohibition and World War II the company has continued to prosper. Schlitz, although owned by Pabst now, was extremely innovative as well. They were the first brewing company to introduce brown bottles, tall boys, and pop-top cans.

Kam's may refer to a local bar in the city of Champaign, IL. Popular with local college students, Kam's has been in business since 1931 and offers a variety of drinks and dancing. 

A white background with a red ring and an inner white circle. An upside down leaf is in the center with a white letter B on it. There is a red ribbon hanging from the bottom edge of the button.

The button is composed of three sections: on the top is white text on a red background, the middle is clear plastic with white edges, and the bottom is white text on a blue background. 

Old Style beer was first called Golden Leaf Lager and was manufactured by Gottlieb Heileman at the G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The beer was known for being made with the finest ingredients. The beer’s name changed to Old Style in 1902. Old Style permanently moved across the state line into Illinois in 1935 in correlation with a nationwide bottlers strike and product rationing. The beer soon became known as “Chicago’s Beer” and was sold throughout the city. In 1950, the Chicago Cubs began sponsoring Old Style, and it has been enjoyed at Wrigley Field ever since.

Illustration of a woman in a red blue and yellow dress wearing a large red and yellow hat and holding a drink while sitting on a yellow moon with yellow stars and text on a dark blue background

Miller High Life Beer is a creation of Frederick Miller. Miller had been a brewer in Germany and brought that passion to Milwaukee in the late nineteenth century. Miller High Life was created by combining local hops and barley with yeast from the “old country.” The beer was distributed starting in 1903 and quickly earned the nickname “The Champagne of Bottle Beer.” The nickname for the beer most likely comes from its high level of carbonation, the unique shape of the bottle (tapered neck like a champagne bottle), and the fact that the bottle was clear with a gold label.

The Miller High Life Girl on the Moon came out very shortly after the beer was introduced. The original depiction was of a girl in a circus-like costume, complete with whip and tall hat, standing on a High Life crate. In 1907, the girl was removed from the crate and was sat, instead, on a crescent moon. Supposedly, the girl came about because of a vision that one of the advertising managers had while he was lost in the Wisconsin Northwood. The Girl in the Moon was removed in 1944 to cut back advertising expenses. However, she returned in 1998 and has remained on the product ever since.

A white background featuring a gold-lined shied with a golden star atop it. The inside of the shield is red.

This is a promotional button for Lone Star Beer. In 1883, Adolphus Busch built the Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio, Texas. This brewery served as the first large mechanized brewery in Texas. The company grew larger and larger until it closed in 1919 due to Prohibition only to restart in 1933. In 1940, the actual Lone Star Beer was brewed and thus the "National Beer of Texas" was born.

In 1949, the company went public.  In 1957, it introduced the Lone Star Beer logo featured on this button. In 1976, Lone Star Brewery was acquired by Olympia Brewing Company, by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1983, by the Stroh Brewery Company in 1996, and by the Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.

Lone Star celebrated 65 years of production as the "National Beer of Texas" and it reverted back to the 1957 packaging in 2012. Today, Lone Star sells millions of barrels per year. The beer itself is a little under 5% ABV and is a standard American Lager.

When the capitol is Austin was constructed in 1888, the Goddess of Liberty atop the building was designed holding a Lone Star beer.

There is an outer blue circle with white text followed by an inner black circle with a gold border and gold text followed by a blue oval which has the head of a white goose. Underneath the goose is a red banner with white text.

Goose Island is a young brewery compared to most. It began as a part of the Goose Island Brewpub, started by John Hall. Hall, a beer-lover, traveled throughout Europe and after experiencing so many distinct local beers, he decided that Chicago could do the same. Hall's Goose Island craft brews (and pub) began in 1988. It was very popular throughout Chicago and in 1995 Hall opened a larger brewery and bottling plant followed by a second brewpub in 1999. In 2006 the company was sold to Widmer Brothers Brewery and in 2011 is was announced that the company will be sold in parts to Anheuser-Busch.

Today Goose Island has  over 50 craft beers including Matilda (Belgian Ale, Bourbon County Stout (Imperial Stout), Nut Brown Ale (Brown Ale) and many others.

White text over a red outline of Australia in the center. Foster's Lager logo at the top of the button on a blue background. 

Foster's Lager is a standard American Lager created by William and Ralph Foster in 1887. Despite it being an American style it was created in Australia, and today is sold internationally to over 150 countries making it the the #1 selling Australian beer. In 1972 Foster's signature 25.4 Oz cans were imported into the United States. Looking very similar to motor oil cans the beer quickly became known as "Foster's Oil Cans". 

Today Foster's produces two beers - Foster's Lager (5% ABV) and Foster's Premium Ale (5.5% ABV). The "Oil Can" size is still available, as are 12 oz bottles and 12 oz cans. In the United States there is a production facility in Fort Worth, Texas owned by Oil Can Breweries.

A white background with red text  and a green rectangle with white text. The outer edge has a red border. The top of the button has a pencil clip.

Dixie Brewing was founded by Valentine Merz in 1907 in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. While most companies shut down through Prohibition, Dixie became the "Dixie Beverage Company" and kept sales of "alternative" drinks high. In the 1980s when many beer companies began to struggle and get absorbed into larger companies, Dixie filled for bankruptcy  but then reorganized in 1992. With the reorganization came new lines of beer like Blackened Voodoo (dark ale) and Crimson Voodoo (red ale).

The company was forced to stop New Orleans production in 2005 when the levees failed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. After the area was de-watered the brewery sustained heavy looting damage and was no longer functional. For years the owners of Dixie have been attempting to return from Wisconsin (current headquarters) to their New Orleans home. Like many international beers such as Guinness, Dixie is currently contract-brewed and commands a strong regional following.

Dixie Beer for some time marketed as Dixie "45" beer. The name supposedly comes from a bar next to the brewery that would serve Dixie. A few guys joked about how Nick's Bar never gets robbed to which the bartender pulled out a 45 and claimed "this is why!" "nobody messes with a 45!" The regulars began calling the bartender "45", and would ask him to "pour another Dixie 45". The name stuck and became apart of the company, but once Colt 45 released their product the "45" was pulled from Dixie.