Advertisement from Brewing Industry Foundation

This advertisement for the Brewing Industry Foundation appeared in an unidentified magazine circa 1944, during World War II. It features a Halloween holiday theme and illustrates a tactic often used by advertisers in this era: capitalizing on Americans' wartime sympathies to promote a product or brand name. In this instance, the Brewing Industry Foundation draws a connection between writing to military personnel and drinking a glass of beer by showing that both activities raise individuals' morale, whether it is a member of the armed forces fighting overseas or Americans making sacrifices for the war effort on the home front. The text of the advertisement reminds the reader that both are 'important little things.'

This ad, as well as endorsing the Brewing Industry Foundation, also promotes writing letters to soldiers overseas, and particularly the sending of V-Mail letters. The Brewing Industry Foundation released several ads following a similar script, replacing carving a jack-o-lantern with other 'small familiar pleasures,' yet retaining the plug-in for letter writing. The inset graphic of a Coast Guard writing was frequently replaced with depictions of service members from branches of the military, relaying that they, too, wanted V-Mail letters.