When the bobblehead was just a glint in some loose-necked Barbie doll’s eye and the free rinkside seat upgrade had yet to be brought up in a marketing powwow, National Hockey League fans were treated to promotional items they could actually use longer after the third-period buzzer sounded.
Thirty years ago today marks the night that the Pittsburgh Penguins joined forces with Budweiser and caught lighting in a bottle. Or, rather, a big plastic jug to put your domestic beer in.
Urging the Pennsylvania faithful to get “a head start on spring,” a Budweiser Picnic Jug was given away free for the first 5,000 adults to attend the Pens’ March 13, 1982, game versus the Colorado Rockies. Limit: one per couple.
Players Pat Price, Rod Schutt, Pat Graham and Randy Boyd flex their acting chops in the priceless commercial for the free giveaway.
It should be noted that the Pens crushed the Rockies like, uh, a can of Bud that night, the beer jugs no doubt urging the crowd on, which in turn spurred the home team to victory.
Contrary to smart-aleck reports, the score was in fact 6-2, not 2-4.