Leadership Development Lessons from Schlitz: How Victory Disease Destroys Great Brands

"𝗜'𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘇."

This old saying is a play on the iconic 1970s advertising slogan, "𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐳, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐫!"

It is used to indicate that you have completely run out of something—supplies, money, energy, patience, or options—and that the situation at hand is essentially over or at a total standstill.

I still use it and after explaining its meaning to younger colleagues who've never heard it before, they often use during subsequent conversations.

𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆

Schlitz was once the world's best selling beer. Its rapid decline during the 1970's is considered one of the greatest "unforced errors" in marketing history. 

The decline was caused by a series of disastrous cost-cutting decisions that ruined the product's quality and alienated its loyal customer base. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀:

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 ("𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘇 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲"): In 1967, the company introduced "accelerated batch fermentation" to speed up production and cut costs. They also replaced malted barley with cheaper corn syrup and used hop pellets instead of fresh hops. These changes resulted in a beer that tasted flat and spoiled quickly.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟲 𝗛𝗮𝘇𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹: To hide a "hazy" appearance caused by shorter aging times, Schlitz added a stabilizing agent to avoid potential FDA labeling requirements, and it reacted poorly with other ingredients. This led to a massive recall of 10 million bottles, which cost the company over $1.4 million and permanently damaged consumer trust.

𝗔𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴: In a desperate attempt to fix its image, Schlitz launched a 1977 TV campaign nicknamed the "𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘇 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂"ads. The commercials featured rugged men (like lumberjacks or lion tamers) who appeared to physically threaten viewers who suggested they switch to another beer. Customers found the ads hostile rather than funny, and sales plummeted further. (Note: I liked the commercials and thought they were funny! You can see them on YouTube.)

𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲: A massive worker strike in 1981 at the Milwaukee plant crippled production. Unable to recover, the Uihlein family sold the company in 1982 to Stroh Brewery for a fraction of its former value. 

On May 20, 2026, Schlitz's parent company, Pabst Brewing Co., officially discontinued production of Schlitz after 177 years of production. 

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀:

- Victory Disease Breeds Complacency — Dominance often blinds leaders to the slow erosion of their advantage.

- Arrogantly scaling a flawed product multiplies vulnerability, not strength.

- Cutting costs that destroys quality is self-inflicted defeat.

Mike Ettore is an executive leadership coach, author, and keynote speaker based in Tampa, Florida.