Sunday, March 6, 2011

Brews not Bullets: Labatt 50 in Korea

A recent spat between Molson and Labatt's brewerys over the right to be the official beer of the NHL is now going to the courts.  It seems that Labatt's longer relationship with the Canadian Forces remains intact.  Product placement is a common enough practice in contemporary media, but during the Korean War, Labatt's brewery went to great lengths to promote their new brand of beer commemorating the 50th anniversary of the company.  John Labatt personally delivered 3,440 cases of  Labatt 50 to troops in Korea.  This favour was apparently appreciated, as the 57th Field Squadron of Royal Canadian Engineers dubbed a bridge they built the "The John Labatt 50th Anniversary Bridge."

RCR Soldier enjoys a beer in Korea. NAC.

Labatt continues this tradition of sending beer to Canada's soldiers, sending thousands of cans of Keiths, Blue, and Kokanee to the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.




Heron, Craig. Booze : A Distilled History. Toronto Ont.: Between the Lines, 2003. 
http://www.framingbusiness.net/archives/811
http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=63627.0
http://www.army.gc.ca/IAOL/143000440000588/143000440000590/HTMLFiles/WSentinel_30apr.pdf

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