Is that a beer bottle peeking out from behind that RVA billboard on I-195? In what may well be the first use of the open-source RVA logo by a national brand, perennial Richmond brew favorite Yuengling has wrapped itself in the flag of the RVA logo.
"It's a first with a national company that I'm aware of, yeah," says Dave Menk, a sales representative with Lamar Outdoor Advertising, which operates the digital billboard.
Of course, Yuengling's connection to Richmond has some history behind it. In 1866, the son of Yuengling's founder came to Richmond and opened the short-lived James River Steam Brewery near Rocketts. Ever since — with a pause for Prohibition — Yuengling has been sold here.
That's why, says Amanda Marable, marketing manager for Yuengling's local rep Loveland Distributing, the company jumped at the opportunity to wear the RVA logo.
"We came up with the idea and ran it through them," Marable says. "They said ‘Absolutely — we love it.'"
