Alex the Dog

Last updated

Alex the Dog was the advertising mascot for Stroh's beer in the 1980s and precursor to Budweiser's Spuds MacKenzie. [1] At the peak of his career, Alex appeared in parades, on Good Morning America , and the Today show. He even inspired a series of toys, posters, cologne, shampoo and hand lotion. [2] Hip-hop artist Tone Loc referenced Alex the Dog in his song "Funky Cold Medina". [3]

Contents

Commercials

Peter Blum, the archivist for Stroh's, describes Alex's most famous commercial:

During a poker game, one of the buddies says "I could sure go for another Stroh's", and starts to get up. The owner says, "No, wait...Alex...'Woof'...2 cold Stroh's 'Woof'." "Wait 'till you see this...(door opening sound) Just opened the refrigerator...(bottle cap hits the ground) just opened one bottle...(another bottle cap hits the ground), just opened the other...(pouring sound), now he's pouring yours...(pouring sound), now he's pouring mine." The next thing you hear is "lap, lap, lap", and the owner says "Alex! You better be drinking your water!", and the other players laugh. [4] [5]

Background

The dog who portrayed Alex was Banjo, who was part Golden Retriever and Irish Setter. He was found by a trainer at an animal shelter. [2] Alex served as the Stroh's dog from around 1984 until 1989 when the creators of the Alex the Dog commercials, Lowe Marschalk (Seth Werner, copywriter; Gary Ennis, art director; and Paul T Norwich, account supervisor), lost the contract with Stroh's. Comedian Brian Regan served as Alex's campaign manager during Alex's Presidential campaign. Banjo died of cancer a few years after the advertising campaign ended. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company</span> Defunct American brewing company (1849–1999)

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producers of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer". Schlitz first became the largest beer producer in the US in 1902 and enjoyed that status at several points during the first half of the 20th century, exchanging the title with Anheuser-Busch multiple times during the 1950s.

<i>Ice Cold in Alex</i> 1958 British war film

Ice Cold in Alex is a 1958 British war film set during the Western Desert campaign of World War II based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. Under the title Desert Attack, a shortened, 79-minute version of the film was released in the United States in 1961. Film critic Craig Butler later referred to the shortened versions as nonsensical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainier Brewing Company</span> American former brewing company (1878–1999)

The Rainier Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Seattle, Washington. It brewed Rainier Beer, a popular brand in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Although Rainier was founded in 1884, the Seattle site had been brewing beer since 1878. The beer is no longer brewed in Seattle, nor is the company owned locally. In the late 1990s, the company was sold to Stroh's, then to Pabst Brewing Company, though Miller contract brews most of Pabst's beers. The brewery was closed by Pabst in 1999 and sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carling Black Label</span>

Carling Black Label is a lager distributed by Carling Brewing Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamm's Brewery</span> American brewing company

The Theodore Hamm's Brewing Company was an American brewing company established in 1865 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Becoming the fifth largest brewery in the United States, Hamm's expanded with additional breweries that were acquired in other cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, and Baltimore.

Anthony Terrell Smith, better known by his stage name Tone Loc, is an American rapper. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award, and for being featured in "We're All in the Same Gang", a collaborative single by the West Coast Rap All-Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spuds MacKenzie</span> Dog mascot of Bud Light beer

Spuds MacKenzie is a fictional dog character used for an extensive advertising campaign marketing Bud Light beer in the late 1980s. The Spuds MacKenzie mascot and campaign was the idea of a 23-year-old art director, Jon Moore. At the time, he was working at Needham, Harper, and Steers, a Chicago advertising agency. The dog first showed up in a Bud Light Super Bowl XXI ad in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miller Lite</span> American light pilsner beer

Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light. Miller Lite is the official beer sponsor of the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, and Bellator MMA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery</span> Major Mexican beer brewery

Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma / Heineken México) is a major brewery based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, founded in 1890. It is a subsidiary of Heineken International.

The Stroh Brewery Company was a beer brewery in Detroit, Michigan. In addition to its own Stroh's brand, the company produced or bought the rights to several other brands including Goebel, Schaefer, Schlitz, Augsburger, Erlanger, Old Style, Lone Star, Old Milwaukee, Red River, and Signature, as well as manufacturing Stroh's Ice Cream. The company was taken over and broken up in 2000, but some of its brands continued to be made by the new owners. The Stroh's brand is currently owned and marketed by Pabst Brewing Company, except in Canada where the Stroh brands are owned by Sleeman Breweries.

BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. With more than 15,000 employees at 289 offices in 81 countries, it is the largest of three global networks of agencies in the portfolio of Omnicom Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympia Brewing Company</span> Former brewery in Tumwater, Washington, USA

The Olympia Brewing Company was a brewery in the northwest United States, located in Tumwater, Washington, near Olympia. Founded in 1896 by Leopold Friederich Schmidt, it was bought by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1983. Through a series of consolidations, it was acquired by Pabst Brewing Company in 1999; the Tumwater brewery was closed in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Bohemian</span>

National Bohemian Beer, colloquially Natty Boh, is an American lager originating from Baltimore, Maryland. It was first brewed in 1885 by the National Brewing Company, but was eventually purchased by Pabst Brewing Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funky Cold Medina</span> 1989 single by Tone Lōc

"Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Matt Dike and Michael Ross, and first performed by American rapper, actor and producer Tone Lōc. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark (1989). The single was released on March 18, 1989, and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month where it went platinum, selling over one million copies and becoming the second ever platinum-certified rap single. It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 13 in May of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delicious Vinyl</span>

Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles, California.

<i>Cool Hand Lōc</i> 1991 studio album by Tone Lōc

Cool Hand Lōc is the second and final studio album by American rapper Tone Lōc. It was released on November 19, 1991 via Delicious Vinyl. Production was handled by Michael Ross, Matt Dike, Tony Joseph, Quicksilver, Def Jef, Sir Jinx and Tone Loc himself, with co-production from M. Walk and William Michael Tate. It features guest appearances from Kenyatta, Def Jef, El DeBarge and MC Wink Dog. The album peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its lead single, "All Through the Night", peaked at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinness</span> Irish brand of beer

Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120. Sales in 2011 amounted to 850,000,000 liters. In spite of declining consumption since 2001, it is the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland where Guinness & Co. Brewery makes almost €2 billion worth of beer annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Growler (jug)</span> Jug used for selling craft beer and other drinks

A growler (US) is a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bottle used to transport draft beer. They are commonly sold at breweries and brewpubs as a means to sell take-out craft beer. Rarely, beers are bottled in growlers for retail sale. The significant growth of craft breweries and the growing popularity of home brewing has also led to an emerging market for the sale of collectible growlers. Some U.S. grocery stores, convenience stores, bars and restaurants have growler filling stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DoggoLingo</span> Internet language and slang words used to refer to dogs

DoggoLingo is an Internet language that is created from word conversion, meme lexicon, and onomatopoeia. Emerging in the 2010s, DoggoLingo is implied to be a dog's own idiom, and is presented as what humans have long believed goes on in the canine brain. Elyse Graham, assistant professor at Stony Brook University, describes DoggoLingo as "upbeat, joyful, and clueless in a relentlessly friendly way".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donnie Vegas</span> Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Donnie Vegas is a dive bar and restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Opened by chef Benjamin Artaiz and bartender Jeremy Wilson in 2015, Donnie Vegas specializes in hot dogs and cocktails.

References

  1. Carolyn Smagalski. Beer Dogs and Party Animals, bellaonline.com, Accessed 5 March 08
  2. 1 2 3 Alex, the Stroh's dog, TVacres.com, Accessed 5 March 2008
  3. Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina , retrieved 26 January 2018
  4. Julie Johnson Bradford (November 2001). "Beer and Man's Best Friend". All About Beer. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
  5. "Alex the Dog Stroh's Beer Commercial" (video). YouTube . Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2011.