Originally published June 11, 2011. Revisited May 31, 2026
Over the past few years, several sites have featured clips from what may have been one of the most successful and unique ad campaigns of the early 1990s: St. Ides Malt Liquor. Not since the days of Billy Dee Williams hawking Colt 45 with prime Lando Calrissian smoothness had malt liquor been so visible. Unfortunately, there was always one commercial that no one seemed to have, and it just so happened to be the one I remembered most from that era.
Tonight, I found it.
As a teenager living in Davenport, Iowa, at the time — class of ’94 — late-night MTV was littered with bizarre commercials for several products. But none seemed as blatantly targeted as the ones for St. Ides. Yes, the Crooked I was everywhere, from television to T-shirts to the advertised 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor readily available at a gas station with a drive-through beer window on West Kimberly Road. I forgot the name, but the place was notorious for serving minors.
I’d later find out that St. Ides had a full-on library of commercials featuring a who’s who of the rap game, but there were only two I ever recall seeing in Iowa.
This one features Snoop Dogg as Snoop Doggy Dogg with Nate Dogg busting out a smooth groove …
And this one — the one I’ve searched for off and on for years. I didn’t realize until tonight that MC Eiht was directing me to “the neighborhood liquor store.”
Why we were never blessed with the expanded library of commercials remains a mystery, but thanks to YouTube, most of them have surfaced over the past few years. So who else was in ’em? 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre & Snoop, Ice Cube, King Tee, Eric B. & Rakim, Da Lench Mob, EPMD, Kool G Rap, DJ Pooh, Cypress Hill, and more. Is there anyone I’m missing from this list?
Some quick hits:
Ice Cube is fantastic in this one. There’s an Are We There Yet? joke in there somewhere:
Michael Bay needs to take note. While it’s too late for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, there should be a lowrider that transforms into a massive 40-ounce bottle in Transformers 4:
2Pac may not be kicking it with Biggie down in New Zealand, but he was drinking with Snoop back in the day.
Is this one promoting drinking and driving?
Want more St. Ides commercials? Hit this link!
