Rufus Thomas Schlitz Malt Liquor

April 9, 2015 3:22 PM

Rufus Thomas for Schlitz Malt Liquor, 1974. Look out for the bull. (SLYT)
posted by Capt. Renault (28 comments total)

Rufus Thomas at Wattstax, 1972
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:31 PM on April 9, 2015 [7 favorites]

Not sure if this has been posted before - The fall of Schlitz.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 3:34 PM on April 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

A man dressed like that could sell me just about anything.
posted by peeedro at 3:44 PM on April 9, 2015 [10 favorites]

Schlitz seemed like it was everywhere when I started college, even bigger than the local Genesee. Just a couple of years later it was gone. And it was their own fault.
posted by tommasz at 3:52 PM on April 9, 2015

'70s beer commercials were the best.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:59 PM on April 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

As if the '70s wasn't already enough of a fairy tale to me.
posted by johnnydummkopf at 3:59 PM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

I can't see that commercial without thinking of guys on the streets liquored like this. That and blacksploitation.

The only song about malt liquor you need to know.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 4:00 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

A man dressed like that could sell me just about anything.

I KNOW! Now I want a matching melon cape and shorts suit. And coordinating boots! It takes restraint not to go for the standard gold platforms.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:13 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

I love how the bull turns to the camera at the end looking like "WTF was all that?"
posted by octothorpe at 4:14 PM on April 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

I feel like Rufus Thomas, the Crown Prince Of Dance. I'm Mike D and I'm known for romance.
posted by bleep at 4:16 PM on April 9, 2015

All I know is that there was "Blue Bull" and "Red Bull" 40s of Schlitz malt liquor back when I first started "drinking" in ~1990. And that "Red Bull" made me want to fuck up some shit like that bull did in that commercial.

I've stopped drinking recently...
posted by kuanes at 4:34 PM on April 9, 2015

Rufus Thomas was THE SHIT.

I fondly recall an interview I saw once where he was asked about the difference between Stax and Motown.

"The Motown man... he's the man you hope your daughter brings home. The Stax Man? He's the man you're afraid your daughter will bring home."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:38 PM on April 9, 2015 [9 favorites]

My dad's beer (malt liquor?) of choice. The first sip of beer that made me wince at age 7 was Schlitz.
posted by zardoz at 4:52 PM on April 9, 2015

The only piece of clothing I've ever owned that caused a stranger in public to stop me and ask where I got it was a vintage tan Schlitz delivery shirt (with a patch on the back and everything), so I've always had a bit of a soft spot for that rancid swill.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:58 PM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Whoa. This is literally the dance I do when I am about to open my first beer of the week on a Saturday afternoon. I didn't know it was a thing.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:04 PM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

I still drink Schlitz (the beer not the malt liquor) it's way better than PBR.
posted by jonmc at 5:13 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thank you Capt R. you have brought me much joy.
posted by parki at 5:48 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

I had no idea that Schlitz still existed although I always get Schmidt, Schlitz and Schaffer confused.
posted by octothorpe at 5:49 PM on April 9, 2015

This reminded me of two SNL commercial parodies:
• Grady Wilson's "Put the Fire Back in Your Marriage Techniques"
• Uncle Jemima's Pure Mash Liquor

This was just as fun to watch, and didn't overstay its welcome.
posted by not_on_display at 5:57 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

I still can't believe they used a bull for the mascot of their malt liquor... it just seemed like a load of Bull Schlitz to me.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:00 PM on April 9, 2015

I took a photography class at a community college about fifteen years ago. My instructor told me this story:

He'd moved to Memphis for art school and didn't know much about the local culture. He got a job at a photo shop. This was back when everyone had to drop off their film to get it developed and printed. One day a meticulously dressed, short, bald man with big gray sideburns came in and asked for his prints.
"And your name, sir?"
"I'm RUFUS THOMAS!"
*crickets*
". . . and I'm . . . Colin?"
posted by hydrophonic at 6:11 PM on April 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

> This is literally the dance I do when I am about to open my first beer of the week on a Saturday afternoon.

It's not the most technically demanding dance in the world, but drink enough Schlitz malt liquor and you'd be hard pressed to perform any of the steps. Or any steps at all.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:33 PM on April 9, 2015

That Wattstax footage is solid proof that Rufus provided his own wardrobe for the malt liquor commercials, if you had any doubt.
posted by thecjm at 7:58 PM on April 9, 2015

I'm with jonmc here. The beer is absolutely best of breed among lawnmower lagers. The Malt liquor, maybe not so much...
posted by mcrandello at 8:03 PM on April 9, 2015

This reminded me of two SNL commercial parodies:

Shorter (and more to the point of this post) is the SCTV ad for “The Cow” malt liquor, starring John Candy as Shelley Winters.
posted by LeLiLo at 9:14 PM on April 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Rocket Fuel Malt Liquor DAAMN!!!
posted by maudlin at 9:17 PM on April 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Goddamn, that's a funky motherfucker.
posted by SPUTNIK at 6:28 AM on April 10, 2015

That Wattstax video is the very definition of joie di vivre.
posted by whuppy at 6:55 AM on April 10, 2015 [1 favorite]