The document summarizes the origin story of Olde Frothingslosh, a fictional beer brand created in the 1950s by Pittsburgh radio personality Rege Cordic. Cordic's humorous radio advertisements about Olde Frothingslosh were so popular that listeners started calling local breweries to find out where they could buy it. This caught the attention of Pittsburgh Brewing Company, who worked with Cordic to produce and market Olde Frothingslosh as a limited seasonal brand from 1955 to the mid-1960s, creating new spoof labels and advertisements each year. At its peak, Olde Frothingslosh sold 50,000-80,000 cases annually during the Christmas season and helped pioneer novelty branding and marketing in

1. Beer CCans
& Brewery ollectibles
Beer CCans
& Brewery ollectibles
OH MY GOSH – OLDE
A full bottle from the very first edition
of Olde Frothingslosh, from 1954.
FROTHINGSLOSH! PART 1 A brew with the foam on the bottom – Crudleigh V-9 automobile, thin enough to drive down the center line of the highway!
But these spoofs, funny as they were, pale in comparison to Cordic’s invention of “the
they had to be kidding, right? pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom”—Olde Frothingslosh. The saga of the fabu-
lous brew’s creation, as explained to Pittsburgh radio audiences by none other than Sir
Well actually, they were. And thus Reginald Frothingslosh VI himself is as follows:
begins the wacky story of America’s Long ago, Sir Reginald Frothingslosh I and his lovely wife Sir Lady
Frothingslosh II (or III) received a command from King Henry VIII, affection-
most beloved novelty beer brand.
ately called the Vee-I-Yi-Yi. “Other brews won’t do!” shouted the king. “I
want a new old ale—a pale stale ale—an ale that’s lighter, milder, more
flexible than any other advertised on television!”
“Will do,” said Sir Reggie, since
BY SIR TEDDY SCULLIN #MXLI he valued his head. First they
selected a suitable building site (a
site for sore eyes) at Upper-
If you lived in Pittsburgh in the mid-1950s, it’s likely that you had your radio Crudney-on-the-Thames, just
tuned to KDKA-AM, where a madcap gent named Rege Cordic held sway from down the river from the glue
6-10 a.m. every morning but Sunday. His show, “Cordic & Co.,” became so factory. Their castle-type brewery
popular that it commanded an astronomical 85% market share. Regular visitors was erected in record time (they
to his show included cornball fictional characters like Omicron and Noodnicron, worked Knights).
aliens from Venus; Carmen Monoxide, the taxidermist; studio announcer Production bogged down for a
Roquefort Q. LaFarge; and Louie the Garbage Man, who with his truck while. Scientific research gave
“Catherine” had been featured in Better Homes and Garbage magazine. them the answer: someone had
Cordic and his stable of writers kept the laughs flowing by creating fake neglected to order ingredients (it’s
advertising for make-believe products. On any given morning you might difficult to make ale without ingre-
hear commercials for Cordic & Co. Research Laboratories (Better Things dients). So Sir Reggie and Sir Lady
for Better Living Through Chicanery); Mediocre Midget Cigarettes (the set out to find the finest. In the
Short Cigarette for the Man in a Hurry) in crush-proof stainless steel African province of Hippety, they PBC produced 250,000 cans of Sir Lady
packs; Gizzards Little Cotter Pins (They Pull You Together) and the found the right hops—Hippety Hops Frothingslosh in 1955.
1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
Olde Frothingslosh clicks in ’56!
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2. Beer CCans
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was so pale the first few cases Olde Frothingslosh in bottles and a quarter Olde
fainted. And it was so flexible that it of a million 8 oz cans of Sir Lady Frothingslosh
was certified to fit any shape of Frothingslosh (USBC 242-16). They went ended when
glass, without any bending at all. like hotcakes, and brewery brass realized he succumbed
The King (Vee-I-Yi-Yi) tasted the they were onto something. in 1965 to the
first glassful. A fortnight later, he In a 1961 magazine article, PBC ad man- siren song of
uttered those immortal words that ager John de Coux reported, “We were order- Hollywood.
have resounded through the ages: ing lots of 10 and 20 thousand cases, not Radio station
“Oh My Gosh—Olde Frothingslosh!” really believing it ourselves. It went the same KNX in L.A.
way in ’56 and ’57. Now we’re selling thou- hired him on to
Cordic introduced his listeners to sands of cases every Christmas season, start- replace a morning Olde Frothingslosh
Olde Frothingslosh in 1954, and the ing shortly before Thanksgiving, in markets drive time deejay named Bob Crane, who was born in the
fictional commercials were such a hit like Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, had left to star in his own television show, madcap mind of
that calls started pouring in to KDKA Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.” At their Hogan’s Heroes. Pittsburgh radio
from people wanting to know where At its peak, retailers sold 50,000-80,000 cases peak, Olde Frothingslosh sales eventually Pittsburgh Brewing’s decision to produce personality Rege
they could buy the stuff! But it wasn’t of Olde Frothingslosh annually, all during the averaged 50,000–80,000 cases a year! and market Olde Frothingslosh was based Cordic, seen here in
only the radio station whose phone Christmas season! Rege Cordic had sold his rights to the Olde on an insight that came only later to many various promotional
lines were buzzing; folks were also Frothingslosh concept to Pittsburgh Brewing other brewers: develop novel packaging and roles, including that
calling the Pittsburgh Brewing Christmas gifts to shareholders and busi- Company, but that didn’t end his involvement prople will buy your beer not for what’s in of Sir Reginald.
Company to ask about availability. ness associates. Word of mouth did the with the brand. Far from it: one Old the bottle (or can), but for what’s on it.
This soon caught the eye (and ear), of rest; the brewery got so many inquiries Frothingslosh bottle label featured Cordic in a In his 1955 letter to beer distributors, PBC
are tops, you know. For lightness PBC’s President, S.E. Cowell. that management decided to take the tux and top hat, posing as Sir Reginald VI. President S.E. Cowell wrote:
and mildness, they selected nice rice, Next thing you know, Cowell phoned brand to market during the following More importantly, Cordic & Co. worked
sweet wheat and mad, mad malt. Cordic with a great idea—to bottle beer year’s holiday season. with the brewery’s ad agency, Ketchum, Newspaper,
The staff went to work with a Will under the Olde Frothingslosh label. Cordic In a letter to retailers Cowell wrote, “The Macleod and Grove, to put together a Radio, and
(Will Tuppence of Devonshire). A little agreed and sold the rights to the name to Pittsburgh Brewing Company is going to slew of Olde Frothingslosh commercials Television ads
trouble did develop with those who put PBC. Like the lovable marionette in Carlo package a limited supply of Olde that aired in 1960 on 42 radio and eight will tell your
the foam on the ale—the white collar Collodi’s Pinocchio, Olde Frothingslosh was Frothingslosh as a means of introducing television stations. Many featured Cordic, customers that
workers, that is. But soon the first about to become real. YOUR customers to genuine Tech Golden and all of them were hilarious; one radio they can order
batch came forth. Like the King (Vee-I- Pilsener Beer, the lightest, finest Pilsener spot featured an interview with a baseball cases of Olde
Yi-Yi) had commanded, it was like no HOLIDAY CHEER ever brewed. The beer itself IS fine Tech star who proclaimed, “I always shave with Frothingslosh
other ever brewed. S.E. Cowell’s original idea was to put up Pilsener … only the label is a gag. This sales it.” The budget for the ad campaign was a from YOU … that
It was so light, the beer floated on about 500 cases of Olde Frothingslosh (the gimmick will get TECH Beer into many new hefty $200,000—nearly $1.5 million in they can serve
top of the foam. The foam was on the brew was really PBC’s Tech Pilsener) homes—and make many new friends.” today’s dollars. and enjoy this
bottom (no more messy mustaches!). It during the 1954 holiday season as In 1955, PBC produced 10,000 cases of Cordic’s active role in the marketing of COLLECTOR’S
1962
This collection of 1962 Frothingslosh items includes all six labels, a teddibly silly bottle and 6-pack, a
cardboard case, and a 6-pack topper. Note the appeal to label collectors on the topper.
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3. Beer CCans
& Brewery ollectibles
ITEM during the Holiday Season.
Olde Frothingslosh promotion will 1963 (4 of 6 shown) 1964 (4 of 6 shown) 1965 (4 of 6 shown)
send customers to YOU to order
cases of this real Collector’s Item for
home delivery in time for the holi-
days …. Order your supply right away.
And so, from 1955 to 1961, each
annual batch of Olde Frothingslosh
sported a new and different tongue-in-
cheek label. Rege Cordic’s name actu-
ally appears on some of them. Then in
1962 and 1963 the brewery bumped up
the interest level—and sales—with two
sets of six labels each that spoofed
other drinkables (and took punning to
a new low). Goofy new six-label sets
followed in 1964 and 1965. The 1964
labels featured Cordic in a half-dozen
outlandish disguises.
But change was in the wind for the
marketing of everybody’s (or at least
Pittsburgh’s) favorite pale stale ale.
Rege Cordic was now a continent
away, and S.E. Cowell—having
launched both Olde Frothingslosh and
the world’s first pull-tab beer can,
retired from PBC in 1966.•
The telling of this story would not have
been possible without major contributions
from Iron City collectors Chuck Puckett
#32804 and Mark Young #5494, whose
knowledge of Olde Frothingslosh is ency-
clopedic. Thanks for sharing so much of
your time and knowledge.
A 1955 cardboard back bar
display.
1966
1967
COMING NEXT ISSUE: "OH MY
GOSH—MISS FROTHINGSLOSH!"
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