Beer posters

23 Oct

I’m sure that many countries have beer posters and advertisements that feature pretty women.

I remember the Budweiser Beer “Bud Girls” ads in America.

I remember this "Bud Girls" poster from the '80s in America

Budweiser Beer has "Bud Girls" in Japan, too.

It’s interesting to see how advertising changes and evolves over time in a particular culture.
Pre-World War II beer posters are quite fun to look at. They’re so different from more modern advertisements. Sometimes Japanese 居酒屋 (pubs) and restaurants will have some of these old, retro beer posters on their walls. I like it when I go to a place that has them.

Old "Kirin Beer" poster

Another old 「キリンビール」 ("Kirin Beer") poster

Old 「エビスビール」 ("Ebisu Beer") poster

This one says 「サッポロビール」 ("Sapporo Beer") written from right to left.

When I first came to Japan, it was very common to see beer posters in Japan that showed girls in bikinis holding a mug of beer.

Nowadays beer posters with girls in bikinis can still be seen…but it seems to be more of the trend to have the models in the beer posters be more “conservatively dressed”.

Beer poster for 「サッポロ生ビール」 (Sapporo Draft Beer).

Beer posters are interesting, especially how they’ve changed over time…but what really matters is that the beer is cold!

14 Responses to “Beer posters”

  1. grants for school March 28, 2014 at 10:09 pm #

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    • tokyo5 March 28, 2014 at 10:17 pm #

      My first suggestion would be to stop spamming people!

      Like

  2. finorgan November 3, 2011 at 12:41 am #

    We visited Matsumoto Castle once, but our timing was such that when we turned up, there was over an hour wait in a queue to enter the castle so we just walked around the grounds. I’d like to go back, it was a seriously impressive castle.

    Like

    • tokyo5 November 3, 2011 at 1:09 am #

      Next time you should go inside if you can…

      Like

  3. finorgan October 30, 2011 at 2:44 am #

    Thanks for the tip. Next trip will a short one at the end of December until the second week of January. So unfortunately won’t get to see the Great Snow Festival in Sapporo, but I’m sure there’ll be lots of amusement in the New Year festivities.

    Like

    • tokyo5 October 30, 2011 at 11:05 am #

      Will you be visiting a Japanese family’s home during New Years?
      New Years in Japan is often spent with family…having a big special meal (similar in that aspect to X-mas in western culture).

      Like

      • finorgan October 31, 2011 at 2:01 am #

        Yes, I’ll be staying with my girlfriend’s family in Nagano. So looking forward to what that will involve. And since we’re in Nagano, I hope to do some skiing as well.

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      • tokyo5 October 31, 2011 at 1:53 pm #

        I went to Nagano in 1998 for the Olympics. It’s a nice area.
        Will it be your first time there? You should see the famous 「松本城」 (“Matsumoto Castle”).

        Like

  4. finorgan October 25, 2011 at 7:09 am #

    We saw the old Kirin Beer posters in a restaurant in Nara this year. My friend tried to buy one of the posters, but was told they weren’t for sale. I can guess they’re collector’s items now.

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    • tokyo5 October 26, 2011 at 12:08 am #

      I can’t imagine a restaurant owner in Japan selling the decorations off of his wall whether they were a collector’s item or not.

      By the way, was this your first visit to Japan? Which part of Japan did you like the most?

      Like

      • finorgan October 26, 2011 at 6:51 am #

        My friend is used to trying his luck, I didn’t really expect the posters to be for sale.

        Yes, first visit to Japan, and it definitely won’t be the last. We spent time in Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Koyasan and we spent a full week in Nagano prefecture. The highlight for me was Tsumago in the Kiso valley and Togakushi. Both places has a magic about them. I’ve been told that Togakushi is considered a “power spot” by many young Tokyoites who long to get out of the city at the weekend.

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      • tokyo5 October 27, 2011 at 1:28 am #

        >We spent time in Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Koyasan and we spent a full week in Nagano prefecture.

        You saw many great parts of Japan! If your next trip is in February, I recommend seeing the 「札幌雪祭り」 (Sapporo Snow Festival) in Hokkaido, if you can.

        Like

  5. gigihawaii October 23, 2011 at 12:38 am #

    I agree. Love my ice cold Corona — great beer from Mexico!

    Like

    • tokyo5 October 23, 2011 at 1:07 am #

      Yes, Corona Beer is good.
      I was wondering if they had ads with “beer girls”…and an internet search shows that it seems they do.

      Maybe every major beer does.

      Like

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