Alex the Dog

Last updated

Alex the Dog
Other name(s)Banjo
Breed Golden Retriever and Irish Setter
Sexmale
Cause of deathCancer
Years active1984-1989
Known foradvertising mascot for Stroh's

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)

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company is an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was once the largest producer 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.

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

The Rainier Brewing Company is an American owned beer brand, originally established in Seattle, Washington. Rainier Beer remains 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 not currently brewed in Seattle, nor is the company owned locally, but remains American owned with a Seattle-based sales and marketing team. After a series of ownership transfers starting in the 1970s, the company was sold to Stroh's and then to Pabst Brewing Company by the late 1990s. The brewery was closed by Pabst in 1999 and sold, while Rainier beer continues to be sold by Pabst.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tone Loc</span> American rapper

Anthony Terrell Smith, better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, 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. It was first produced in 1975. 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pabst Brewing Company</span> Brewery named after Frederick Pabst

The Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor: these include its own flagship Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as brands from many now-defunct 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> Brand of beer from Baltimore, United States

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">Rheingold Brewery</span> American brewery (1883–1987)

Rheingold Brewery, also referred to as Rheingold Breweries, or Liebmann Breweries, was the producer and marketer of Rheingold Beer from 1883 until 1987. This article is about both the brewery and its primary brand “Rheingold,” which has been sold by other companies intermittently since Rheingold Brewery was ended.

<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 a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based multinational alcoholic beverage maker Diageo. 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 litres. 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">BrewDog</span> Multinational brewery

BrewDog is a multinational brewery and pub chain based in Ellon, Scotland. With production of over 800,000 hectolitres, BrewDog is the seventh largest beer brand in Britain, and the company claims to be the "#1 Craft Brewer in Europe". It was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, who together own 19% of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepherd's whistle</span> Whistle placed in the mouth and used to communicate with sheepdogs

A shepherd's whistle is a specialized, modulatable, variable-pitch whistle used to train and transmit commands to working dogs and other animals. Unlike other whistles, they are placed inside the mouth. The pitch is controlled by the placement of the tongue; physically, shepherd's whistles are vessel flutes with the tongue forming one side of the resonating chamber, and controlling its size. Like tin whistles, while simple, they can be used as musical instruments in their own right.

<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">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 . 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2011.