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.
Recommended Citation
Page, David, "How Prohibition Changed Alcohol Advertising" (2019). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 66.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Oralpres/66
Department/Program
History
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Page
Additional Files
SOURCE powerpoint David Page.pptx (1120 kB)Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Page
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
Faculty Mentor(s)
Marji Morgan