Today there are no such ads anymore. How was vodka promoted in times when there were almost no legal restrictions? And would such announcements tempt you to buy?
We searched for advertisements in the Polish press published from the end of the 19th century to the end of the interwar period. Most of the brands they promoted today no longer exist. With one notable exception. Most vodka ads on the list are J.A. Baczewski:definitely the best known in the times of our great-grandparents.
We have dedicated a separate article to this brand. And although today you can also buy it (a few years ago J.A. Baczewski started to produce alcohol again), the methods of promotion have certainly changed a lot ...
How was drinking encouraged a century ago?
Let's start with the simplest method (though also a bit boring). Big bottle, authentic ("real") and classic call to action:"demand everywhere".
And yet it could have been much more convincing. Because vodka "only for connoisseurs" is one that is ... recommended by a small child in a funny cup.
Before the war, alcohol consumption by young people did not seem to be a significant problem. And it could even be the subject of a joke. As in the ad by J.A. Baczewski, who seems to be saying:vodka so good that even your son will steal it ...
If the brand's ambassador could have been a teenager, it might as well have been - Santa Claus. It's also an advertisement for J.A. Baczewski:
Because - according to another advertisement - vodka is a perfect thing "for Christmas" ...
The interwar period was fond of persuasive poems. This advertisement by Baczewski suggested, for example, that Polish vodka ... allows you to live well over a hundred years!
In a different twist, it was assured that Baczewski ... allows to ease any political disputes. And such a panacea before the war seemed no less necessary than today. 
There were also commercials with a hint of femininity ... 
… And one with a clearly erotic expression. By the way, would there be an advertisement with fifteen men looking at a naked dancer between the legs today?
Before the war, it did not offend anyone. After all, alcohol was a gentleman's thing. Like the one from the Wyborowa advertisement:
Or the gentleman drinking J.A. Baczewski was clearly a lot of fun:
