How Prohibition Changed Alcohol Advertising

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

Ellensburg

Event Website

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source

Start Date

15-5-2019

End Date

15-5-2019

Abstract

Washington was one of numerous states to enact a state-wide prohibition law well before the federal prohibition measure in 1920. Washington’s law prohibited the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages, and this changed the way alcohol companies in the state advertised their products. This paper focuses on the Seattle based Rainier Brewing & Malt Company to show how advertisements shifted from promoting beverages to combating the prohibition initiative within the state. The company was at the center of Seattle’s alcohol manufacturing operation, and because of that had many prohibition supporters pushing against its products. Alcohol companies were intertwined with the community’s efforts to enact prohibition within Washington State. The proximity the Seattle Brewing & Malt Company had to the prohibition campaign lead to the company having a great deal of involvement in the anti-prohibition movement. Between 1907 and 1914, the Seattle Brewing & Malt Company responded to the prospect of prohibition through advertisements that rebranded and remarketed their products, appealed to public values such as truth and liberty, and spoke against the notion of prohibition by likening it to tyranny.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Marji Morgan

Department/Program

History

SOURCE powerpoint David Page.pptx (1120 kB)
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Page

Additional Files

SOURCE powerpoint David Page.pptx (1120 kB)
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Page

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May 15th, 12:00 AM May 15th, 12:00 AM

How Prohibition Changed Alcohol Advertising

Ellensburg

Washington was one of numerous states to enact a state-wide prohibition law well before the federal prohibition measure in 1920. Washington’s law prohibited the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages, and this changed the way alcohol companies in the state advertised their products. This paper focuses on the Seattle based Rainier Brewing & Malt Company to show how advertisements shifted from promoting beverages to combating the prohibition initiative within the state. The company was at the center of Seattle’s alcohol manufacturing operation, and because of that had many prohibition supporters pushing against its products. Alcohol companies were intertwined with the community’s efforts to enact prohibition within Washington State. The proximity the Seattle Brewing & Malt Company had to the prohibition campaign lead to the company having a great deal of involvement in the anti-prohibition movement. Between 1907 and 1914, the Seattle Brewing & Malt Company responded to the prospect of prohibition through advertisements that rebranded and remarketed their products, appealed to public values such as truth and liberty, and spoke against the notion of prohibition by likening it to tyranny.

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Oralpres/66