As I’ve told you many times before, Mackeson was a huge brand in the 1950’s and was probably Whitbread’s biggest seller. Hard as that might be to imagine today. Though this advert might well help explain that.
Because it’s obviously aimed at women. A clever move, as it doubles your potential market. Though, as with most adverts written by men but aimed at women, it’s pretty sexist and condescending.
Here’s the text:
“Some people prefer MACKESON’S Stout
it’s a matter of taste
Generally, stout has a slightly bitter taste. But Mackeson’s mellow smoothness comes as pleasing change to many who take a rich, reviving glass after the long day’s housework is over.
Try it, and taste the difference!
BREWED AND BOTTLED BY WHITBREAD
Suppliers for the County:
Fredk. Lenay & Sons Ltd., Phoenix Brewery, Wateringbury, Maidstone, Kent.”
Kent & Sussex Courier - Friday 28 July 1950, page 7.
Note, too, how the emphasis is on it not being bitter like other Stouts. One of the things that surprised mw in “The Pub and the People” about 1930’s Bolton was who was drinking bottled Guinness: middle-aged women. So the idea of women drinking Stout wasn’t particularly new. Though here it’s a very middle-class looking woman drinking in the safety of her home.
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2 comments:
Women drank stout because they could claim it was for their health rather than to get them pissed, and the advertising, of course, underlined this: Mackeson's, oldies will remember, was "Looks good, tastes good, and by golly it does you good." Another classic example of ads that didn't set out to recruit new consumers, but reinforce for current consumers their reasons for liking the product.
Sometimes women drank stout under professional advice. My Grandmother was an American living in England immediately after the war and was somewhat anemic after the birth of her first daughter. The Doctor prescribed a Guinness a day!
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