Schlitz beer advertisement 

Editor: This is a painting, an advertisement for Schlitz beer. The artwork depicts a woman enjoying the winter season with the brand's product, the slogan in view being "Know the real joy of Cool Living!". I'm really interested in how consumer culture informs art, especially how ads become ingrained in popular imagination. How would you interpret its role in shaping societal perceptions, particularly in that historical period? Curator: An excellent question! What we're looking at is less "high art" and more of a calculated effort to intertwine the consumption of Schlitz beer with a desirable lifestyle. Note how the imagery idealizes leisure, depicting a relaxed and attractive woman enjoying winter. Advertisements like these shaped not only purchasing decisions but also societal values, reinforcing a particular image of domesticity and consumerism. It is not enough that you know you can drink this beer, but rather you must. Editor: That makes perfect sense. It's not just selling a beverage; it's selling an ideal. So the art, the woman, is constructed as a way to say, "This is what 'cool living' looks like. Do you think that these type of art-based advertisements continue to affect modern advertising today? Curator: Absolutely. Even today, ads rarely just present a product; they attach aspirations, anxieties, and social meaning to it. The legacy of images like these is in every glossy magazine spread, every television commercial, even down to sponsored content you see on social media. By what visual cues do you perceive that this image's legacy still lives? Editor: The way in which ads feature celebrities as everyday normal citizens enjoying "Cool Living". By associating them to these brands it promotes this as an achievable desire. I now view the piece in light of its original and lasting socio-political impact. Curator: And hopefully you will enjoy beer advertisements slightly more as an analytical consumer.