257. Advertique: BLACK & WHITE SCOTCH HOLDER

James Buchanan, thought of the black and white terrier mascots for his Black & White Scotch Whisky product that he founded in London in the 1890s. Since then, the scotch whisky brand with the familiar label has figured prominently in our pop culture--it was featured being drunk in movies like James Bond, Dolores Claiborne, La Dolce Vita (with Marcello Mastroianni as the happy swigger), and is te favorite drink of Dean Martin and Cary Grant. The iconic terriers (actually a black Scottie and a white West Highland) have appeared in thousands of merchandising materials through the years.

This particular display, found in a Pampanga shop, is one such example. To entice barhoppers, this usually was placed on the bar top, with a real B&W Scotch bottle set next to the cute canines. It is made from some kind of plastic and dates from the 50s. These bar displays may have been imported to the Philippines by the local distributor. On ebay, a flawless example (sans the vntage bottle) of this advertising collectible commands a starting bid of about $20. Got mine for about half of that price--considering its condition, but still a good buy for a rarely seen piece.