-Rainier Beer, launched in the late 1800s,
was a fairly popular brew,
but the brand did not take off until the mid-1970s
when a series of unique and hilarious commercials
put it on the map.
"Rainier: A Beer Odyssey", a 2024 documentary
that tells the story of this hugely successful ad campaign,
is currently getting a second round of screenings
throughout the Northwest.
Here's a preview.
[ Dramatic music ]
-You'll see the big red initial R,
brewed by Rainier Brewery in Seattle.
-For many years, advertising was held in contempt.
-A wonderful beer.
-We began to develop ideas
that were contrarian to contemporary beer advertising.
-They weren't like ads;
they were just like these short films
that were just sort of put out into our consciousness.
That's the most perfect ad I've ever seen.
-Rainier wants you to know about quality.
♪♪
-They were creating work
that became the envy of the community.
And the question is, who were these guys?
You had this small boutique agency;
17 people in a warehouse.
-Seattle was so young and so naive.
-And that was in the depth of that depression
that we were in, and it created this opportunity for optimism.
-"The word I'm looking for," he says, "is novel."
And the human reaction to novelty is to smile.
♪♪
-When they gave us these commercials,
they were really giving us ourselves.
-It's not brain surgery, it's only advertising,
but you might as well do it well.
-Here we are.
-Action, bottles.
-These Rainier ads were such a fabric of the community.
-Bottle a beer!?
-It wasn't like anything else that was on television.
♪♪
[ soaring dramatic music ]
♪♪
-We're all a big team, and this is Mick Rooney saying,
sell, sell, sell for Rainier.
♪♪
-"Rainier: A Beer Odyssey" screens
at the Bellingham Pickford Film Center on Saturday, May 3rd,
and at the Historic Everett Theater on Thursday, July 17th.
♪♪
-Catch Art Zone Friday night’s at 8
and anytime online at SeattleChannel.org/ArtZone.
♪♪