• Brandchannel, Tuesday, January 29, 2008 10:45 AM

As microbrews and imports have lent a snootier air to the beer marketplace over the years, Colt 45 became increasingly viewed as a throwback and a symbol of simpler times and unrefined tastes. Despite a re-branding last summer, the brand has remained true to its roots.

The Pabst Brewing Company owns Colt 45. Like Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) beer--a brand known for its low cost and ubiquitous presence at frat parties -- Colt 45 has come a long way. The inseparability of Billy Dee Williams' now-almost-satirical commercial for Colt 45 in the 1980s and the current ironic adaptation of the '80s aesthetic (music, fashion, drugs), is a perfect and hilarious opportunity for the brand to reposition itself. The brand message the product has been using since the 80s--"Works Every Time"--has basically come to mean "Gets the Job Done."

You needn't look further than College Humor's online archive of Colt 45-related materials to understand that the brand is simply reinforcing an image that it has had for decades--that of a potent, inexpensive drink favored by those with more motivation than means.

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