Chuck Hanson

As a kid growing up, I can remember the TV ads that, to me, touted beer as the coolest thing going. In those days beer companies chose cartoon characters to advertise their product. I enjoyed watching the cartoon Mr. Magoo. Did you know that he advertised Stag beer? You can Google, “Mr. Magoo beer commercials” and see him doing just that. That may have contributed to my first thoughts about “mmmm, beer!”

And then the Hamm’s Beer Bear would be shown doing lumberjack log-rolls while the jingle, “From the land of sky-blue waters...Hamm’s, the beer refreshing...” Were these ads targeted towards kids?? This kid certainly got the message.

And then later on, sports figures confirmed the idea that having a beer was “good” for athletic prowess. Football players, those tough and rugged guys like Bubba Smith and Dick Butkus would argue, “less filling; tastes great...Less filling...TASTES great!” So my thinking was probably this; why wouldn’t a young boy love to log-roll like the bear? Why wouldn’t I want to be a tough, (beer drinkin’) football player? Oh yeah, and then my favorite cartoon character, Mr. Magoo...Did I have any kind of a chance?

Well, fortunately I did. In the midst of all that introspection, I was introduced to recovery. To make a long story short, the people who are in my life now, who serve as great accountability partners, would likely not be there had it not been for errant choices.

Have you been led astray by early advertising consumption?

Graphic Credit:
Animationfactory.com