Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” brought to you by your local Auto Logic, the Logical Choice.
The recent visit of snooker legend Cliff Thorburn to Branch 6 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Owen Sound got me nostalgic for the old Carling O’Keefe commercials.
You have to be of a certain vintage to recall these beer spots, but they were certainly memorable for being unique.
In every sequence, the late Paul Rimstead ( who certainly knew a thing or two about alcohol consumption ) would be on location at a fringe sport and then salute the activity with a ” here’s to ya, from O’Keefe. “
Cliff Thorburn made trick shots around O’Keefe bottles on a pool table at Casa Loma or the McLaughlin House.
The pilot commercial was immensely successful, Elmer Hohl of Wellesley, Ontario threw a perfect horseshoe ringer around an O’Keefe Bottle.
They did shoots with women’s softball, underwater hockey and even spot during the famous Beaver Valley River Rat race.
The commercials were fun, zesty and they won awards on a Worldwide basis……
Unfortunately Carling O’Keefe didn’t sell enough beer and in time the toast, ” Here’s To Ya with O’Keefe “…was toast.
I’m Fred Wallace