At first, it was hard for me to figure out what kind of product this ad was actually selling. Is it equivalent to a modern day muscle-building protein shake? The visual and headline make it seem that way until you see who our friends at Anheuser-Busch are targeting – “nursing mothers, convalescents, the dyspeptic.” An overall remedy for whatever’s upsetting you physically, with instructions to “drink occasionally,” for basic upkeep, all while adding “zest” to your active lifestyle. An approach you would likely never get away with today.

Here’s the full copy:

Outdoor sports –  To give zest to outdoor sports, to assist in exercise, to relieve fatigue – drink an occasional wine glass of Anheuser-Busch’s Malt-Nutrine. It gives appetite, health and vigor. Invaluable as a builder-up of wasted constitutions – for nursing mothers, convalescents, the dyspeptic. It insures healthful and refreshing sleep. A predigested food, rich in nutriment, relished and retained by the weakest stomach. Malt-Nutrine is the pure strength of best malt mixed with tonic properties of hops – not intoxicating. (And added in small type: Endorsed by the best physicians. All druggists and grocers sell it.)