Other name(s) | Banjo |
---|---|
Breed | Golden Retriever and Irish Setter |
Sex | male |
Born | 1984 |
Died | 1989 |
Cause of death | Cancer |
Years active | 1984-1989 |
Known for | advertising 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]
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]
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]
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.
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.
Carling Black Label is a lager distributed by Carling 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, best 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.
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.
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.
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 outsources 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 defunct breweries.
A fuzzy navel is a mixed drink made from peach schnapps and orange juice. Generally an equal amount of each component is used to concoct it, although quantities may vary. It can also be made with lemonade or a splash of vodka depending on the drinker's taste. The addition of another 1 or 1+1⁄2 oz of vodka to the fuzzy navel creates a "hairy navel", the more "hair" referring to the increased strength of alcohol in the drink. A "Hairy Navel" or "Fuzzy Russian" recipe may include 1 part vodka, 1 part peach schnapps, and 4 parts orange juice.
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.
"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.
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.
Lōc-ed After Dark is the debut studio album by American rapper Tone Lōc. It was released on January 23, 1989, via Delicious Vinyl. The album was produced by Matt Dike, Michael Ross, and the Dust Brothers. It reached the number-one spot on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Lōc-ed After Dark was the first album by a Black rap musician to top the chart. It featured three singles: "Wild Thing", "Funky Cold Medina", and "I Got It Goin' On".
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. The album was produced by Michael Ross, Matt Dike, Tony Joseph, Quicksilver, Def Jef, Sir Jinx, and Tone Loc, 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.
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.
BrewDog is a multinational brewery and pub chain based in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. With production of over 80 million litres, 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 17% of the company.
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.
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.
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.