“Long Live Longnecks” (Lone Star Beer slogan)
Long-necked bottles were used for beer in the 19th century, and perhaps earlier than that. Lone Star Beer (“The National Beer of Texas”) has long used long-necked bottles, called “Lone Star Longnecks.” In late 1973, the Lone Star bumper sticker “Long Live Longnecks” was first printed. Lone Star re-used the “Long Live Longnecks” campaign in 2005.
In 2003, Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Edition Dictionary added the word “longneck” for the first time. The Oxford English Dictionary added “longneck” in November 2002.
Wikipedia: Lone Star Brewing Company
Lone Star is the brand name of a beer once produced in San Antonio, Texas and marketed as “The National Beer of Texas.”
History
The original Lone Star Bottling Works opened in San Antonio in the 1890s and by 1903 was selling 65,000 barrels of beer annually. With the end of Prohibition in 1933, a new Lone Star brewery was built under new owners. The plant first produced beer under the Sabinas brand name and then the name Champion beer. In 1940, the name Lone Star was first used to market a beer from the brewery. The brewery also produced Lone Star Light.
Merriam-Webster Online
Main Entry: long·neck
Pronunciation: \ˈlȯŋ-ˌnek\
Function: noun
Date: 1978
: beer served in a bottle that has a long neck
(Oxford English Dictionary)
long-neck, n.
colloq. (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.). A bottle with a long, narrow neck; spec. a beer bottle with a capacity (typically) of 330 ml. Freq. attrib. in long-neck beer.
[1907 Dial. Notes 3 246 Long-necker, round quart whiskey-bottle.]
1969 L. G. SORDEN Lumberjack Lingo 74 Long neck, a bottle of whiskey.
1976 N.Y. Times 25 Feb. 39/1 It is a bit like the tug of war between the crystal wine glass set and the long-neck beer bottle set.
1984 M. A. JARMAN in Dancing nightly in Tavern 6 The bored cowhands..sipping longnecks and gazing at The Waltons or fuckflicks from the satellite dish.
1991 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 8 Feb. 21/3 Power Brewing yesterday unveiled a 345ml longneck stubby as part of a move to capture a larger slice of the restaurant and nightclub market.
2000 J. GRISHAM Brethren 152 You can’t lay out at Pete’s every night, drinking cheap longnecks with coeds.
7 February 1825, Nantucket (MA) Inquirer and Mirror, “The Rats in the Cellar,” pg. 1:
Who ever heard of rats drinking beer!—Well I don’t know, says I, but there is certainly much beer wasted; and did you never know that they dip their tails into long neck bottles and let on a-nother suck them!
8 September 1869, Connecticut Constitution, pg. 3 ad:
CAUTION.—There have been, and still are several parties manufacturing and selling so-called “Langley’s Bitters,” many of which are worthless. As a guide against such, I would say that in 1866, I secured by copy-right, in the United States Court, a trade mark and name, “Rocky Mountain Bitters,” and all Bitters of my manufacture are put up in dark, long neck, quart bottles with red label printed with gold;...
15 January 1882, New York (NY) Times, “Tavern and Feudal Hall,” pg. 10:
In the gastzimmer, a great sideboard of oak, strong-legged, solid-backed, and free from carving, supported many a tall beer mug of gray and blue earthenware; dozens of glasses of all sorts, and, just before the dinner hour, bottles black, yellow, and green, both short and tall, narrow-topped, long-necked and tapering or with broad bottoms, which told that they had originated in the land of stein-wine.
8 October 1883, New York (NY) Times pg. 8:
All hands were immediately piped to quarters in the smoking-room where they deposited their burdens—small, long, necked bottles, decorated with gold foil—on the marble-topped tables.
6 October 1889, Bismarck )ND) Daily Tribune, pg. 4:
Take a bottle holding about three pints, of round shape, with a long neck, such as an old beer bottle;...
14 March 1893, New York (NY) Times, “A Sale of Bottles,” pg. 4:
Messrs. CRAVEN BROTHERS of the Salem Glass Works, Salem, N. J., are about shipping five carloads of glass bottles to England by a steamer of the White Star Line. This, it is stated, is the first time that bottles manufactured in this country will be brought into competition with the English-made article in its own market. The first shipment will include 1,000 gross of long-necked bottles. They will be packed in boxes made to hold two gross each. The order was received by cable from LEA & PERRIN, manufacturers of Worcestershire sauce.
4 April 1975, Victoria (TX) Advocate, pg. 1B, col. 7 ad:
LONG LIVE LONGNECKS
LONE STAR DISTRIBUTING CO., INC.
1 June 1975, Dallas (TX) Morning News, section B, pg. 1:
San Antonio. You immediately think of the Alamo, The River and Lone Star Beer, as in Long Live Longnecks.
8 October 1975, San Antonio (TX) Light, “Long Live Returnable!” by Warren Jennings, pg. 11F, cols. 1-3:
The folks at Lone Star Brewing Co., with more liquid assets than anybody we know of, are in the middle of a campaign to boost beer sales and help the environment at the same time.
In a word—or words in this case—it’s “Long Live Longnecks.”
(...)
Of the many items used in the campaign, the most familiar is the “Long Live Longnecks” bumper sticker.
12 May 1978, New York (NY) Times, pg. A14:
And tomorrow night he will be in New York, in the kitchen of the Hotel Pierre—“I’m a hotel man, and hotel people stick together”—surrounded by 30 pounds of the finest Texas beef and 10 cases of Lone Star beer, the pale brew in the long-necked bottle to which Texans are curiously partial, preparing to serve the 4-K at the 1978 Invitational Chili Bowl there.
20 June 1978, New York (NY) Times, “The Urban Cowboy, 1978 Style” by William K. Stevens, pg. C1:
If Texas chic is noticeable in New York, it is positively pervasive in Houston. Cowboy hats and boots, Lone Star belt buckles and Levis are in. Bankers and bank clerks, computer programmers and secretaries, truck drivers and refinery workers flock to such spots as Gilley’s or Fool’s Gold to drink beer out of long-necked bottles and dance the Cotton-eyed Joe or Texas two-step, a controlled, old-fashioned country dance of considerable grace and elegance.
Google Books
Plowboys, Cowboys and Slanted Pigs
by Jerry Flemmons
Fort Worth, TX: TCU Press
1984
Pg. 202:
Thirteenth Street and Fifth Avenue, on the edge of Greenwich Village, is a good spot for a hole-in-the-wall beer joint. It is a narrow place with tiny tables jammed together. Through the revolving door, the bar is old-fashioned and festooned with Texanisms—signs blaring “Long Live Longnecks” and “Honk if you love Willie Nelson” and “Everybody’s Somebody in Luckenbach.” There are huge plastic Lone Star bottles and a Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders’ poster.
(New York City’s Lone Star Cafe—ed.)
Skunk Works Digest (March 8, 1996)
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 05:18:57 PST
Subject: Cargo A/C vs. Transports
(...)
“Long live the rodeo and long-horned steer,
long live longnecks, and Lone Star beer!”
Dallas Morning News
After a long dry spell, ‘longneck’ makes the cut
As 10,000 new words crack the dictionary, one - a Texas staple - redefines refreshment
Author: JEROME WEEKS Books Critic
Publish Date: July 1, 2003
How about hoisting a tall, cold one tonight to the dictionary? After three decades as a Lone Star touchstone, the word “longneck” has officially entered the world of Merriam-Webster.
(...)
Mr. Franklin produced the first “long Live longnecks” bumper sticker in late 1973, Mr. Retzloff said.
30 July 2003, Cincinnati (OH) Post, “‘Longneck’ Official,” pg. A2:
HOUSTON—The word “longneck,” as in cold, bottled beer, has been added to the newest edition of the best-selling Merriam-Webster dictionary. Though San Antonio, Texas, beer brewers pushed the word into the public lexicon in the early 1970s, and though it was tossed around in bars in one form or another for decades before that, the word has only now been included in the collegiate dictionary. The 11th edition, the first complete revision since 1993, was released in stores this month.
Austin 360.com
Lone Star goes retro
By Dave Thomas | Thursday, May 12, 2005, 01:15 PM
(...)
The familiar Lone Star shield is prominently displayed, along with the text “Celebrating 65 Years of Pure Texan Beer.” The bottle caps are fantastic and the six-pack carrier has revived the old slogan “Long Live Longnecks.” Even the cans are adorned with the old-style snowflake sparklies.
Object 9
Object 9’s Commemorative Package Design for Lone Star Beer Creates an Email Buzz
released: 6/3/2005 10:02:02 AM
BATON ROUGE, La. (June 3, 2005) - Object 9’s commemorative packaging for Pabst Brewing Company’s Lone Star beer brand recently gained a great deal of attention and Internet buzz surrounding the retro-chic design. Some beer drinkers even went so far to say that the Lone Star beer in the anniversary packaging even tasted better. Based in Baton Rouge, Object 9 is a nationally recognized marketing and design firm that is ranked among PROMO magazine’s list of top marketing firms in the United States.
With the help of Object 9, Lone Star Beer is turning the 65th anniversary of the National Beer of Texas in 2005 into an occasion to acquaint the State’s newcomers with a part of the Texan heritage that’s as authentic as longhorns or the Alamo. Object 9 created a commemorative package that would evoke fond memories of the history of a hometown brand with the goals of increasing sales and brand awareness. This limited-edition packaging represents the first special packaging initiative in Lone Star’s 65-year history bringing back the famous Lone Star shield and ‘Long Live Longnecks’ slogan.
(Trademark)
Word Mark LONG LIVE LONGNECKS
Goods and Services IC 032. US 045 046 048. G & S: beer. FIRST USE: 20050430. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20050430
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78876684
Filing Date May 4, 2006
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition November 21, 2006
Registration Number 3249273
Registration Date June 5, 2007
Owner (REGISTRANT) Pabst Brewing Company CORPORATION DELAWARE P.O. Box 1661 San Antonio TEXAS 78296
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
(Trademark)
Word Mark THE COOLEST LONGNECK IN TOWN
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 020. US 050. G & S: novelty item; namely, a reusable bottle-neck shaped device for attachment to soda or beer cans. FIRST USE: 19910300. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19910300
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 74224819
Filing Date November 25, 1991
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition June 30, 1992
Registration Number 1718195
Registration Date September 22, 1992
Owner (REGISTRANT) Lininger, Roger T. INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 308 West Travis Fredericksburg TEXAS 78624
Attorney of Record Carroll J. Bryla
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “LONGNECK” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date March 30, 1999