Growing Up With Seattle’s Legendary Beer Ads!

The image you see above was known as the “running of the Rainiers”…part of a very imaginative ad campaign for Rainier Beer!

Growing up in Seattle, I learned all about the city’s legendary Brewery through their incredibly entertaining ads – like the ones showing Rainier Beer herds grazing in the mountains!

“It Makes The Mountain Smile!”

The company has been in business for more than a century, making great use of the iconic mountain that looms large over the city of Seattle – here’s proof of that:

At 14,000 feet tall, the mountain is a symbol of the Pacific Northwest – and has been the name of this beer company – and here’s proof that there was a time when beer was perhaps a bit “over advertised!”

HA! Can you imagine a beer ad that promotes the beverage as good for all ages?

While those times have certainly changed, there was also an era when the Rainier Beer Company released some of the most entertaining advertisements of all time…creating a series of ads promoting “wild” beers roaming the northwest!

The “Running Of The Rainiers!”

You have to give credit to this Seattle-based beer company: in the 70’s and 80’s they owned the airwaves with a series of incredibly entertaining commercials for their beer!

Here is the hilariously creative ad for the “Running Of The Rainiers”, a seasonal stampede of beer bottles that was presented as a faux live news report!

The View From “Inside The Bottle!”

I shared the ad before and I got this note back from someone who says they were one of the bottles! Here’s what he sent:

“I was in one of those beer bottles for the Running of the Rainiers ad. I was living in the dorms at UofW and the resident assistant was dating somebody at Rainier. Bodies were needed to wear the bottle suits so a bunch of us college dorm kids were recruited. All these years later it’s a little hazy, but this is what I remember (details are a little fuzzy). 1977 or 78, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) we were down in the Pioneer Square area. Couldn’t see much through the bottle cap in front. We were knocking against each other as we ran down the alley. I think we were paid $52 each.”

I love this – what a fascinating story!

Oh, and don’t forget who was out there fighting to corral those beers:

Mickey Rooney, Beer Hunter!

These ads were so successful that they even tapped legendary Actor Mickey Rooney to take part, as one of the “Beer Hunters”!

Check this out!

Rooney clearly was having a blast making these ads, which saturated our airwaves and made the beer the clear king of brews in the Pacific Northwest.

Here’s another example of the “Wild Rainiers”:

Equally iconic is the ad simply known as “Rainier Beer Motorcycle:”

Check out this simple yet beautiful advertisement:

Iconic.

Bravo to the company for these entertaining and artful advertisements…

Hey, and about that Mickey Rooney ad – it’s not so farfetched to have the iconic Actor take part, especially hone he was known to endorse almost anything!

Yes, this ad was a funny fake, but Rooney was a wild wild man when it came to products baring his name – he was a savvy Businessman who used his fame for a wide array of products:

Go Mickey!

If you find this as entertaining as I did, then click here to see more of Mickey Rooney’s business savvy!

These beer ads weren’t the only ones that were iconic in Seattle at the time:

“We’ve Got Crab Legs!”

The Sea Galley restaurant chain also had incredible ads featuring dancing crab legs!

You can see these ads by clicking on my story here:

Another classic restaurant in Seattle is Dick’s Drive-In:

Yes, this burger stand is so popular that Bill Gates waits in line for a bag of burgers as well!

One local Seattle restaurant made an homage to the Dick’s Deluxe, and you can see it by clicking on my story here:

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Categories: Art, Funny Pictures, Memoirs, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Wacky Food

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