Patrick Swayze goes Swayze-crazy for Pabst Blue Ribbon—in 1979

When one thinks of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, one typically thinks of a gas-huffing Dennis Hopper and/or a pack of exhaust-huffing bike messengers. What one usually doesn’t think of is a cherub-faced, pre-Outsiders Patrick Swayze primping in a mirror, strutting down the street, picking up a swingin’ chick, and cutting a rug at a local discotheque. But lo and behold, that’s exactly what happens in this semi-recently unearthed PBR ad from 1979, which has been making the rounds lately for no other reason than that it’s kind of awesome.

Scored by a song that may or may not be called “I’ve Got Pabst Blue Ribbon On My Mind” (sample lyric: “I’ve got a taste for livin’ / I’m thinking tall Blue Ribbon”), the commercial features Swayze engaging in some hard-hitting disco moves that make his gyrations in Dirty Dancing eight years later look like the goddamned hokey-pokey. Why this spot is making minor Internet waves now is anyone’s guess, though it’s clear that nobody—Swayze included—puts a watered-down beer in the corner.