vintage new liberty ad of the day

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Vintage Ad #1,058: Driving tips from a brewery

Labatt's probably had good intentions in providing the public with tips on becoming a better driver. I know I would have lined up to try their fancy mobile testing unit at the CNE or any country fair. A crucial element of being a better motorist is missing, one that the brewer might not have wanted to publicize for fear of lost sales: drinking and driving.

Doubt that drunk driving was an issue in Toronto during the late 1940s? Check out the following editoral from the April 7, 1947 edition of The Telegram, which I stumbled upon while researching an upcoming Historicist column (I swear these things fall into my lap):

tely 47-04-07 drunk driving editorial


Source: New Liberty, October 1948 - JB

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