You are now entering Ad Space, a realm of commercials, brought before us so we might examine how they work, and discuss why we both love and hate them so. So it is written …

The Product:
Beer

The Promotion:

The Pitch:
Swear responsibly.

I don’t have a lot to say about this ad itself. It’s a pretty simple case of combining a pun on the product’s name with some shock value humor to get people’s attention – not much more to it.

What I’m more interested in is the order of events. Was there ever an actual Josef Bierbitzch, and they just decided to roll with the easy pun on their name? Or is this a made-up figure, like Dr. Pepper, Ronald McDonald, or Thaddeus Garfield Ignatius Friday? And if so, which came first, the name or the idea for this commercial?

I’ve tried looking it up, but it’s not easy finding info. I tried the Bierbitzch website, but either they’ve since lost the domain name, or the company’s transitioned away from the English-speaking market, because the site is now all in French.

I found one review of the beer that says the makers of Bierbitzch (the “Academy of Fine Beers”) claimed there really was a Josef Bierbitzch, a brewer who immigrated from Iceland to California. But said review was also quite skeptical of those claims, mentioning that the “Academy of Fine Beers” has other beers with gimmicky names, so this might just be one more of the bundle.

Also, doing a search for “Bierbitzch” only turns up results referencing the beer – haven’t found a Facebook page for an Olaf Bierbitzch, or a LinkedIn profile for an Emily Bierbitzch, like you’d expect if “Bierbitzch” was a real surname.

If anyone out there knows the truth, please, let us know! With the dozens (dozens!) of Ad Space viewers on the case, I know we can crack this mystery!