n 1966, Burnett created the well-known tagline "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer" for Schlitz. The agency boosted Schlitz's name recognition with the "Gusto" campaign. Consumers were invited to "Enjoy real gusto," "Reach for the gusto," "Go for the gusto" and reminded that "You only go around once in life: Go for all the gusto you can."
In 1976, Burnett dropped the gusto approach and appealed to drinkers by telling them that "When it's right, you know it," that "Schlitz makes it great" and "There's just one word for beer: Schlitz—and you know it."
The campaign produced results, but not the results Schlitz had anticipated. Miller Brewing passed Schlitz in terms of sales, dropping it to No. 3 behind Miller and Budweiser, which had taken the No. 1 spot from Schlitz in 1957.
In 1978, the Schlitz account returned to JWT, which tried to resurrect the gusto strategy with the tagline "If you don't have Schlitz, you don't have gusto." But the campaign backfired and was scrapped for a series of promotions built around a taste test.
Schlitz remained No. 3 until 1981, when the brewery was sold to the Peter Stroh Brewery. The sale marked the end of the trail for Schlitz in Milwaukee, as Stroh relocated the operation to Detroit and gave the ad account to W.B. Doner & Co. In early 1999, Schlitz became part of the Pabst brewing operation.