About 20-25% of what you pay for beer goes to advertising. Kalvawitz bought the names of beer from breweries that went out of business. He owned a number of breweries where he produced beer with the names he had bought. Some people were still loyal to the old name beers. Without having to buy advertising, Kalawitz was able to make a profit selling these beers. Two California examples are Burgermeister and Acme Gold Label. I believe he also owns Hamms, Pabst, and Schlitz.