[Zippy, January 19, 2015.]
The middle panel of today’s Zippy, Zippy speaking with himself in a tavern, spoke to me. I know that tavern. I know those glasses. I know that man, and that other man, the doppelgänger one.
[Life, May 20, 1940.]
I’ve owned a copy of the May 20, 1940 Life for many years. I have no idea how I latched onto it. The men above appear in a full-page advertisement for the United Brewers Industrial Foundation. The ad proclaims the virtues of the Moderation Hour:
Good beer and ale, in wholesome, modern taverns, offer Americans pleasant, inexpensive relaxation!The ad mentions a plan to keep things that way by cleaning up or closing up “any anti-social retail establishments that may exist.” Notice the cuckoo clock floating in space, a welcome touch in any modern tavern. Is the Moderation Hour beginning or ending? Either way: HURRY UP PLEASE IT’S TIME.
I’ve looked at this ad closely on several occasions to appreciate the way it presents manly variety: older man, younger man; cigarette smoker, pipe smoker. Yes, that covers it. The cigarettes are Chesterfields: in the print ad, the name on the pack is more readable than it is here. And while I haven’t looked at the ad in a long time, I recently took the opportunity to visit the Google Books version of this very issue of Life to borrow a liverwurst ad. Liverwurst too would benefit from a Moderation Hour.
The title of today’s Zippy, “Totally Wolvertonian,” references Mad cartoonist Basil Wolverton. Oh, and the United Brewers Industrial Foundation has long since given way to the Beer Institute. That’s about it for today’s Zippy. Burp.
[“Moderation in the pursuit of beer is no vice.”]
Related reading
All OCA Zippy posts (Pinboard)
comments: 2
Well spotted. I wonder if anybody else did.
Anything’s possible. But I think I was the target audience here. : )
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