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Monday 8:30am - 5:30pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5:30pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm

Darby O'Brien Advertising, 9 College Street, South Hadley, MA (2026)

06/05/2026

When You’re Out Of Schlitz

Yep, the beer that made Milwaukee famous has brewed its final batch. For the longest time, Schlitz was the top beer producer in America. Back then, the cool logo and the fact that it sold for less than $3.00 a six-pack had everyone running to the pa**ie. Take a look at this classic sign that still hangs outside the liquor store in my son Joe’s neighborhood in Easthampton. What a beauty.

Not that it was ever a fancy beer, but Schlitz sales started to slip when new owners cheapened the formula. We hear that story every day. Mess with success and down goes the brand. Once the new owners messed with the taste, one longtime fan said, "It tastes like its name."

Schlitz was known as the beer that made Milwaukee famous, which inspired the great Jerry Lee Lewis tune. They also had great ad campaigns and slogans over the years. Like the Ho***rs ad I showed last week, they showed that fun sells.

My favorite was “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer,” which you can hear in this cornball radio jingle and see in this great TV spot featuring beer drinking tuna fisherman.

Another classic slogan was, “If you don’t have Schlitz, you don’t have gusto,” seen in this funny spot here.

Hey, I think that old/new school approach could be a sureshot way to break through the clutter of AI “content” today. Who wouldn’t want to see more ads like these again? Keep your dukes up.

Jingle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mczyKkvoV0I

Tuna Fisherman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL7Uvk-RAkI

Gusto - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBJSle_U_JY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxwZ4RuTCjs

05/29/2026

Ya Gotta Be Kiddin’ Me

Last week it was Pizza Hut. This week I’m talkin’ about another classic American restaurant franchise that’s rebooting its image and repositioning itself in the market. Yep, Ho***rs.

The New York Times just ran a piece with the headline “Ho***rs Says Bring The Kids.” Business has slipped in recent years, and now they are “re-Hooterizing” the place as a casual spot with a family-friendly vibe.

The obvious question: is Hooter’s an appropriate place for kids? Guess it's up to the parents, but so far it looks like it’s having some success. The menu is certainly kid friendly. The Times asked one kid who was in there with his Little League baseball team what his favorite thing about Hooter’s was. He started laughing his head off and said, “the wings.” Then all his buddies started howling. Yeah right, kiddo.

All this reminds me of one of their great old TV spots from the 90s, back when you could still have a lot of fun with advertising. Check out this classic from the “Lose At Baseball? Go To Ho***rs” campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIenvJO0AY

Christ, if I ever walked in the joint, I’d be wearing a fedora and big sunglasses. Remember, I used to be an altar boy. But like my old buddy—and the other last lion of advertising—John Garvey, and I say about three times a week: fun sells. And it’s in short supply out there. Keep your dukes up.

05/22/2026

Get Back To Where You Once Belonged

If you know my daughter Maggie, you probably know how much she loves Pizza Hut. So she was the first person I thought of when I saw all the hullabaloo about Pizza Hut Classic. Yep, it’s true. Pizza Hut is back, baby.

Franchisee Tim Sparks has redesigned 38 Pizza Huts back to their original look—with 12 more on the way. The Tiffany lamps, salad bars, checkered tablecloths, vinyl booths, and big red cups are back. They’ve got the old-school Pac-Man machines in some spots and they’re even bringing back the “Summer of Stories” program, where kids read a book over the summer and are rewarded with a personal pan pizza for it.

It’s getting a ton of press and customers are loving it. People are saying they’re going back to their Friday night traditions. They remember how waitresses knew their names and orders. People want to return to that atmosphere. Here’s hoping the original recipes are coming back with the décor. Even Pizza Hut was a hell of a lot healthier in the 80s and 90s than it is today.

They call it “newstalgia.” Millennials are driving this, trying to relive their childhood memories. I guess all generations are going back because it beats going forward with what’s happening out there, Bucko. Despite what people might think, a lot of Millennials and Gen-Z hate AI and are embracing more authentic, analog things like the old-school Pizza Hut dining experience.

Anyways, when Maggie was a kid, we went to Pizza Hut in the K-Mart Plaza in Holyoke every week. We knew the waitresses and became friends with the manager, Rob Dulanski. A lot of great memories and conversations in that Pizza Hut.

Mag is now a Special Ed teacher in the Holyoke Public School System. So what I’m gonna do is find the closest Pizza Hut Classic, round up Maggie and Rob, and take a road trip for old time’s sake. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKJqecxswCA

05/15/2026

We Need To Talk

I’ve been scouting a few things, so this “Dukes Up” is going to bee-bop-a-lula around a little bit.

It’s been goin' this way a long time, but word out there is that we’re talking to each other less than ever these days, with texts, emails, and online exchanges almost totally wiping out face-to-face interactions and phone calls. My old buddy Joe “Sansabelt” Sibilia says I’m the king of the telephone call. I think it’s a big part of how you build and maintain relationships and friendships.

I talk to people in person every day. The mailman, people in the elevator, the UPS guy, the custodian. I talk to the bank tellers at the drive-up window, the cashiers at the supermarket, and shoppers in the aisles. I gotta say, it makes you feel good. This chatter is upbeat. Christ, when I was a kid, I used to talk in church.

They say no yakety-yak contributes to America’s loneliness and depression. Another report came out and said 50% of Americans say their lives are lacking fun. When you’re having fun, it means less stress and a healthier life. Fun is the best way people connect. In-person experiences work when you unplug.

That’s probably why Gen Z has started a hackysack revival. No phones, no screens. The game brings people back together. Nothing but fun, laughs, and banter.

The other thing I spotted was that some people in New England are spending up to 25 or more hours a week on social media. Whoa, Jackson. This audience also reported higher rates of depression and feeling hopeless and addicted. My advice? Pick up a ping-pong paddle or kick around a hackysack. That’s the ticket.

So to rewind this ditty: call your mother, call your brother, and if nobody wants to talk to ya, call me. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRA3majpFXI

05/08/2026

Kentucky Derby

You know, I’ve never been to a horse race, but I never miss the Kentucky Derby. You can’t beat the high-fashion theater, the colorful headwear, and all the pageantry-show razzmatazz.

The buildup to the race is something else. The bugler and the performance of “My Old Kentucky Home,” as the horses move to the starting gate…then they’re off.

This year’s Derby was a wild one. 150,000 people were in attendance and for the first time ever a female trainer, Cherie DeVaux, claimed a victory with a back-of-the-pack horse, Golden Tempo. The horse was dead last at one point, but had this incredible kick and pulled off a really exciting sprint to the finish to win.

In 2017, DeVaux gave up pre-med to train horses. She describes herself as “one of those thick-minded people that thinks that it’s always going to work out.” But never in her life did she think she’d pull this off.

As I was wrapping this up, I got word that Golden Tempo won't be running in the Preakness. That’s a damn shame, but hopefully the nag will be back in action for the Belmont, which will be held at Saratoga again this year while Belmont Park undergoes its massive $455 million redevelopment. I really like the Belmont because the “New York, New York” theme song is the same one that plays at the end of Yankees games. Can’t beat Frankie.

Here's hoping Golden Tempo and Cherie DeVaux can do it again. I’m bettin’ on it. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68-VgnlzdO4

05/01/2026

The Buck Starts Here

Here’s a humdinger about what’s going on in Lenox, Massachusetts, up in the Berkshires. This one landed on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Yeah, the goddamn front page, Gin Bottle Garvey.

Lenox High's sports teams are called the Millionaires and the mascot is a spin-off of Mr. Monopoly, also known as Rich Uncle Pennybags. With that nickname, they make it clear that people have big bucks in Lenox. But right now they’ve got a hubbub going between older townies and younger students at the high school. This hot potato has really divided the town.

The old guard is fighting to keep the name because it honors local history. The younger generation, including many athletes, are embarrassed by it. When they play against other high schools, they say it makes them seem like snobs. They get snide remarks from fans and other teams wherever they play.

Well, down the river here in South Hadley we don’t have a nickname problem. Our team is called the Tigers. But the town is about to go bust. A coupla weeks ago, like a lot of Massachusetts towns, South Hadley had a vote on a Proposition 2½ override, which allows municipalities to provide additional funding—and the bill lost big time.

Now the town is getting ready to cut teachers, police, fire, DPW, and school sports and music. I guess they’ve already let the athletic director, the trainer, and maybe four others in that department go. Serious business. So while Lenox dukes it out over whether they want to be known as millionaires or not, how ’bout they take on a real cause and try to help South Hadley save school sports? It’d be a great human-interest story that would get ‘em back on the front page of The Wall Street Journal— and also keep the Tigers marching. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeWjEYhk7Xo

04/24/2026

Only In America

Even with all the bad news out there today, sometimes you run into a good, inspiring story.

About 10 years ago, Kayla Viveiros was about to lose everything. She had no college degree, got married at 18, and had her first kid at 21. Later, her husband, who was an art director for the New England Patriots, got sick and couldn’t work. They couldn’t keep up with the bills and the mortgage, not to mention putting food on the table for three kids.

So Kayla became a substitute teacher. Then she moved on to real estate. Next she joined Polaris MEP, a nonprofit that partners with Rhode Island manufacturers. They said, “She has a strong personal touch and is an active listener. She is not at all superficial. She always sees the big picture and has a positive attitude.”

During her time at Polaris, she helped Munroe Dairy, a 145-year-old family-owned dairy and grocery delivery company best known for its milkmen and cow-spotted trucks seen all over Rhode Island. They liked her so much they hired her as VP.

The dairy was familiar to her. She always had Munroe’s chocolate milk when she got home from school. Even now, if the going gets tough, and it’s been tough over the years, she still pours herself a glass. “It makes everything better,” she says. And now this scrapper is the CEO of Munroe’s Dairy. “I’m really proud. I came from literally almost being homeless a decade ago to now being a CEO. I think you just have to be willing to put your mind to it and work hard.”

Just goes to show what grit and no-quit can do. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWrCRPldVZk&list=PLKwlkwPqaAwXgNLC5YH5bhFAunaDQBMD0

04/17/2026

Fly Me To The Moon

A lot of us were on the edge of our seats last week, hoping all went well with the Artemis II astronauts’ return to Earth. And we were all cheering when the splashdown hit the bullseye.

This crew was diverse, including the first woman, the first black astronaut, and the first Canadian to visit the moon. Bob Greene wrote, “Artemis crew members are joining a tiny club of humans who can look up at the moon on a summer night and think, I went there.”

The astronauts said that looking down on Earth, everything seemed peaceful, while here on the ground the whole place is bickering and divided.

In 1964, Sinatra sang “Fly Me to the Moon," an optimistic space age tune. A year later, Barry McGuire had a number-one hit with “Eve of Destruction.” That one seems to fit better today.

I gotta tell ya, I look at that full moon and think of my dad, who died during a full moon, and my brother David, who died recently and who we called “Moon.” Remember, it was JFK who gave a famous moon speech in 1962 at Rice University, calling for landing astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade. He said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_38SWIIKITE

04/10/2026

A No-Name Good Guy

You know, it’s always when the going gets tough that good people show up. Like the guy in Rhode Island who created “Cash Drop Providence.” What he does is post videos of himself hiding cash for people to find. $50, $100, sometimes more. He’s left wads of money on public structures and in bushes. On St. Patrick’s Day he dropped bucks near Trinity Brewhouse, an Irish pub in Providence. People are always thrilled when they find it. Some pass the dollars on to others who might need it, because it makes them feel good.

The guy has remained anonymous. He wants the focus to be on the community, not him. He’s already made over 100 drops. That’s a lot of money, Gin Bottle Garvey. He just wants to make it fun. He also encourages people to shop local and hopes what he’s up to helps and makes a difference. Good for you, Bub. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS06eprlj2I

04/03/2026

With God On Our Side

I’ve been thinkin’, you know who might be the most sensible leader in the world? That Chicago White Sox fan, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope.
With all the combat going on in the world, and both sides of every hubbub working religion into everything, here’s what I’ve been noodling: maybe the best mediator would be the agent of peace, Pope Leo.

Give a listen to “With God on Our Side.” Bob Dylan was inspired to write it after hearing a rendition of “The Patriot Game” by Liam Clancy, who he called the greatest ballad singer of all time. The tune criticizes using religion to justify war and atrocities. He recorded it in 1963. Same as it ever was.
It’s interesting, since Pope Leo took over, his progressive direction and popularity with young people has increased church attendance by 30-70%. Christ, I might have to go back to Mass. Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y2FuDY6Q4M

Darby O'Brien Advertising

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Monday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 5:30pm