Dimple | 1979
«Ein Mann ist, was er trinkt.» (A man is what he drinks.) Five words, one bottle, and an idea of manhood that says a lot about 1979.
The Haig family is one of the oldest names in Scotch whisky. The label in this ad says «Established 1627», but the earliest record that survives is from 1655, when Robert Haig, a farmer and distiller, was summoned by the church elders for running his still on the Sabbath. In 1824 his descendant John Haig opened a distillery at Cameronbridge, in Fife. Dimple, a blend from John Haig & Co., came to market in the 1890s.
In this ad we can see what made Dimple recognisable at a glance: the three-sided bottle with deep dents, which gave the whisky its name. In the United States it was sold as «Pinch». The copy promises a whisky aged 12 years, imported by a firm in Bingen am Rhein.
Today the brand belongs to the drinks group Diageo. The slogan belongs to its time: it ties drinking to being a man and treats a spirit as a mark of character, something we read with more distance now that the risks of alcohol are better known.
Would this headline still work today?
Text in the ad
Ein Mann ist, was er trinkt.
Dimple · 12 Years · John Haig & Co. Ltd., Distillers, Markinch, Scotland · Established 1627
Dimple ist 12 Jahre alter Whisky. Von Haig seit 1627.
Schneider-Import, Bingen
Translation:
A man is what he drinks.
Dimple · 12 Years · John Haig & Co. Ltd., Distillers, Markinch, Scotland · Established 1627
Dimple is a 12-year-old whisky. From Haig since 1627.
Schneider-Import, Bingen
- Brand
- Dimple
- Year
- 1979
- Decade
- 1970s
- Country
- Germany
- Medium
- Magazine
- Themes
- Drinks
- Original publication
- Der Spiegel, 1979
