Drink Cart Friday Shot: Pickleback Weather
A Friday newsletter that goes down smooth like a Pickleback and lingers like Willem Dafoe describing mundane life experiences.
Dear shot loving agency workers and everyone who wants their marketing a little briney.
Since we’re now officially into October, we can definitely start curating some ad history from Halloweens past and more importantly (despite unseasonably warm weather this week in Toronto) drinks that counter the cold, like Scotch.
So speaking of scotch: if you’re looking for a quick shot, try a Pickleback—scotch followed by pickle brine chaser.
The brine cuts through the burn surprisingly well. It originated in Brooklyn around 2006 at a dive bar called Bushwick Country Club, where a bartender started pairing Jameson with the leftover brine from the pickle jars. The brine cuts through the burn surprisingly well, and somehow the whole thing became a hipster bar staple.
Though most scotch drinkers will tell you not to shoot it at all. Save it for sipping, or at least until you can properly taste the “damp yurt at Glastonbury after 10 days of smoke, fire, and rain.” (You’ll understand that reference shortly.)
The Scotch Pickleback
1 oz scotch whiskey (shoot it)
1 oz ounce pickle brine (then shoot this)
Now do another shot and let’s get on with the show.
1. Ad History: Old Thompson (1946)
Since we’re now officially into Spooky month. We can definetly start curating some ad history from Halloweens past. This gem is from 1946 and is really the Art of Vintage Persuasion.
This ad captures everything different about vintage advertising today. The hand-painted pumpkins have a warmth modern digital design or AI can’t match, while the leisurely paragraph-long copy assumes people will actually read about whiskey. Novel concept.
The “How to carve a reputation” headline cleverly plays on jack-o’-lanterns, and calling Halloween a “grown-up affair” reminds us the holiday once centered on cocktail parties, not just candy.
Oh, and there is this. Dropping a custom poem at the top? Brands today quote influencers. 1940s whiskey ads commissioned actual poetry. Different times indeed.
2. National Geographic Is selling puffer jackets now
National Geographic—yes, that National Geographic, the one that taught you about volcanoes and gave you nightmares about anglerfish—is now a clothing brand in Asia.
Nothing says sneakers and puffer coats at the mall more than 135 years of groundbreaking journalism and wildlife photography. The brand equity built through decades of actual substance can now be harvested and sold as vibes on a completely unrelated product. But somehow not in North America.
It reveals something uncomfortable about modern branding: the logo matters more than what the logo ever meant. We see that familiar yellow border and think “adventure, credibility, expertise”—even when it’s on a hoodie made in a factory that’s never seen a snow leopard.
National Geographic spent over a century building authority through exceptional work. Now that goodwill is just another asset to license, another way to move product that has nothing to do with the thing that made the brand valuable in the first place. The brand isn’t a promise anymore. It’s just nostalgic set dressing for commerce.
3. Making light of the housing crisis sells the coffee
Maxwell House just changed its 133-year-old name to Maxwell Apartment and somehow a room full of marketers thought this was genius. The pitch: sell the same coffee for 10 cents less per ounce, call it a “12-month lease,” and watch consumers applaud your sensitivity to their financial struggles.
Only marketers deep inside their bubbles thought economic anxiety was the right vibe for coffee sales? They’re literally joking about how you can’t afford a house while asking you to buy a year of their product instead of Starbucks. “Sure, you’ll never own property, but here’s $40 worth of caffeine to cope!” Stop it.
4. The weirdest scotch ad you’ll see today
I wasn’t sure I even understood this new ad for Laphroaig. But then it played a few times in the background, and It was the lines that I think summed up the scotch experience like no other tasting note.
The actor amusingly compares the scotch to things like, “A damp yurts at Glastenbury after 10 days of smoke,fire, and rain”. Or “Did you ever have to wrestle an angry salty sailor? Me neither. Let’s drink to that.” Or maybe, “It’s like growing a beard in your throat.” Gross, but I feel and taste that. And even:“The smoking ruins of a vanquished enemy fortress. Smokey. Petey smoke.” Yes.
5. The missed opportunity of collectable glassware promos
Stumbled upon this gem this week. A 1979 McDonald’s Seawhawks Glasses ad. These kinds of promotions were always a hit.
Now, I could have done any number of these promotions. McDonald’s The Great Muppet Caper. Burger King’s Empire Strikes Back. But they kind of just vanished as a marketing tactic and that’s a shame.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back with another shot next week. Don’t panic.
Jackson.
The Drink Cart Friday Shot is your late Friday pick-me-up for pop culture brains and ad junkies. A fast pour of ad insights and hot takes, served like a quick round at your favourite dive bar after a week of client feedback.