“Raaaiiiiniiieeer beeer,” croak the frogs. A motorcycle comes around the bend, whirring and blending with the amphibian noises, and around the corner rests the great Mount Rainier.
The great American advertisement. It has everything. Rugged independence and individualism. Clever humor. Creates memorable sounds that sell a product. Sells some beer through a spot about driving a motorbike. Shows the great expanse of the Northwest territory from which Rainier was born, the pride of Seattle, our most beloved natural symbol. Exceptional advertising in every way.
Rainier: A Beer Odyssey is a documentary not about the good cheap regional beer but about Terry Heckler’s advertising house and the memorable work he did for the brand. Heckler is something of a local icon, fashioning one of the greatest long-running beer campaigns, and nothing is more distinctly American than a beer campaign. Heckler was also known for his work for Starbucks, among other local industries, but the work done for Rainier is absolutely classic.
This also isn’t directly a documentary about Terry Heckler, in that we do not learn that much about his advertising work besides what he created for Rainier and why.
What Rainier: A Beer Odyssey most effectively is, is a clip show of Terry Heckler’s best advertisements for television. There’s some really great ones, but ultimately, this is a corporate omnibus of really good marketing. It’s still just a collection of marketing with some informational asides but that’s a great vibe to sink into.
Regionally, Rainier: A Beer Odyssey feels specific and important. It’s full of fun nuggets about Seattle’s development and the culture of business in our beloved evergreen city. If you’re exactly the right person, this is an absolute treat, and will create nostalgia if you don’t already have it, for an era of advertising that was so much brighter and more profound than the modern stuff, which is more about capturing attention quickly than leaving lifelong imprints. There’s also — surprise! — political resonance here and a plot-line involving Ronald Reagan.
For connoisseurs of proud Pacific Northwest brewing history, this is an essential watch. For advertising and marketing folks, it’s also inspiring. For anyone else, it’s such a beautiful time capsule of how products used to be sold to us. From Alfred Hitchcock Presents to human legs running by with Rainier cans for their upper-bodies, there’s so much fun in these advertisements, an entire world of very left-coast messaging that’s every bit as reliable as the beer at the center of the documentary. Rainier: A Beer Odyssey is fantastically fun and was proudly created in Tacoma.