Saturday, August 01, 2009

Beer Summit

Like news features from a celebrity funeral that report what attendees were wearing, it’s been a fascinating week on the beer front – but not so much for advertisers (as far as I know).

The New York Times printed, “Barack Obama, the first black US president, said it was a ‘friendly, thoughtful’ conversation over beer at the White House with prominent Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, who is black, and police Sergeant James Crowley, who is white.” Is there anybody that doesn’t know about this?

The New York Post, among others, reported, “Obama sipped Bud Light served in a frosty mug, sitting in a white shirt with his jacket off. Crowley, in a dark suit and tie, drank a Blue Moon, a Colorado-brewed, Belgian-style wheat beer served with lemon. Gates, who was also in a dark suit, drank a Sam Adams Light. Biden, in a white shirt, sipped a non-alcoholic beer.”

Don’t read much into those brands – sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. Still, there’s been much chat about which beers should actually have been served – mainly opinionaters demanding American-made brewskis (and I suspect was a timing issue).

Me? I only suggest, on this summer Saturday morning, that one brewery alone should have been tapped to supply the beer for this important DC meet-up: Summit Brewing, St. Paul, MN.

Let the brand fit the occasion, I say! And maybe Minneapolis-based Rotor Design would create a nice poster (like this one) for the President’s next brew-chew. Golly – look at the clock. It’s time for a cold one. See ya!

5 comments:

Matt Travaille said...

We don't have any direct contact with Summit Brewing Co.....we were hired by their former ad agency to develop the design and creative for the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition...

I can tell you that I think their current ad campaign (mostly radio spots) is a pretty good one. The theme is "Summit: Get to the bottom of it" and they basically go around and eavesdrop on typical "getting to the bottom of a topic" bar conversations, and of course, all while getting to the bottom of their pints of Summit beer.

Thanks for the link on your blog. Sincerely...

Kayla Jurrens said...

Hi Richard – The thought crossed our minds as well, but as it turns out, sending beer to the White House is a complicated process. Thanks for the email and suggestion – maybe we’ll see the President enjoying a Summit beer sometime down the road!

Cheers!

Susan Reeves said...

Cool poster. Is it silkscreened?

Richard Laurence Baron said...

'Tis a neat one, Susan. How about it, Matt - is it silkscreened?

MattT said...

It is printed offset.....6 spot colors!