The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:
Let’s paint the scene. A motorcycle on a country road, taking a gentle turn before heading to Mount Rainier in the hazy distance.
If you belong to a certain generation of Northwesterners, this vision is accompanied by an unmistakable soundtrack.
“Rraaaaaiii-niiieeeerrrr Beeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr”
The genius behind this epic bit of marketing was a local ad guy named Terry Heckler. He is the subject of a new documentary debuting at the Seattle International Film Festival called “Rainier: A Beer Odyssey.”
Making a film about Rainier Beer TV, radio and print ads from 1974 to the late 1980s is an inspired and welcome idea.
At this point in history, who wouldn’t want to crawl inside a nostalgia bubble and relive the humor and weirdness that embodied a lot more than this region’s appetite for cheap lager. These ads have become part of the collective cultural memory, appreciated by old-timers and newcomers alike.
Justin and Robby Peterson, brothers who own a couple of bars in their hometown of Tacoma, produced the film. In one of their establishments, vintage Rainier Beer television ads run in a continuous loop.
The brothers enlisted the help of director Isaac Olsen to track down the original tapes to see if something could come together. Lo and behold, Olsen found the masters and outtakes, and a project was born.
In the early 1970s, Rainier Beer was a popular local brand struggling to find an identity. The company enlisted a boutique agency called Heckler/Bowker, formed by Gordon Bowker, one of the founders of Starbucks, and branding and marketing wizard Heckler.
From this wellspring of creativity came cans breaching open waters like orcas, “Mountain Fresh Rainiers” running like the bulls of Pamplona, a guy who looked like Rambo armed with an oversized bottle opener ambushing a stampeding herd of Wild Rainiers.
Thirsty yet?
“I think he (Heckler) was kind of in tune with what was going on. It’s like the Northwest — we look out the window and we see some deer and instead of deer it’s beers with legs, you know? … Simple but very effective,” Justin Peterson said.
Mickey Rooney — long past his stardom — made appearances in later spots, just to turn the oddity dial up a few notches.
“Even if you’re not a beer person per se, you’re going to get a blast of strange cinematic weirdness from Seattle’s past. So to me, it’s pretty universal. The younger viewer will appreciate everything. They might not have grown up with the commercials, but they love what was created,” Olsen said.
And no good film is without a little suspense. Find out what happened to beer sales when Rainier was sold in 1987 and the new owners fired Heckler & Associates.
“Rainier: A Beer Odyssey” shows at SIFF Cinema Egyptian at 6:30 p.m. May 13 and 3:30 p.m. May 16. We’ll see you there.
