Just a fun article about Shiner

from Stuart Elliott's advertising newsletter on NYTimes.com, which I highly recommend if you're interested in that sort of thing.

A Whimsical Campaign for Regional Beer

There are 51 employees at the brewery, and they're real people who have real jobs," Mr. Finnigan says. "And when you look at most of them, almost all of them, these aren't in-and-out workers; there's not a lot of turnover and a lot of them have history, a grandfather or father or brother worked at the brewery."

"These people live and die for Shiner beer," he adds, "and we thought it was a great tribute" to them to feature them in the campaign.

One print ad shows an oversized portrait of John Hybner, who worked for Shiner for 39 years and was the company's brew master from 1972 until he retired on June 1. "Shiner's first hospital was above a bar," the ad reads. "Pretty much says it all."

A second print ad depicts a maintenance supervisor. The headline: "One post office. One traffic light. Seven bars. Clearly we have our priorities straight." In a third ad, a quality-control employee appears under this headline: "We hear in some towns beer gut is a derogatory term. Go figure." All the print ads are decorated with vintage snap shots of Shiner and the brewery.

"It is all about the beer for them," says Mark McGarrah, partner at McGarrah/Jessee, "and that's what we're tapping into."

I love Shiner.