The Hamm's Bear
Hamm's Beer1953
The Hamm's Bear is a 1953 animated television commercials (campaign) for Hamm's Beer, created by Campbell-Mithun, Minneapolis.
The line
From the land of sky blue waters
Why it works
A clumsy, good-natured cartoon bear tumbles off a rolling log, plays hockey, fishes and fumbles his way around the North Woods while a tom-tom beat and chorus sing “From the land of sky blue waters”. Campbell-Mithun brought the bear to television in 1953 for the St. Paul brewer, which had hired the agency to turn a regional beer into a national one by selling the purity of Minnesota's lakes. It is studied as a regional brand's leap onto national television and for how much work the sound did: Ray Mithun reportedly based the drumbeat on Haitian drumming, and it became as recognisable as the bear. The spots were so popular that newspapers printed when they would air, in 1959 a marketing organisation picked a Hamm's spot as one of its top ten advertisements, and Ad Age ranked the campaign No. 75 of the century. The bear's retirement, amid concern about cartoons selling alcohol to children, is part of the lesson.
Techniques
- Mascots and characters A clumsy, good-natured cartoon bear tumbling around the North Woods becomes the brand's lovable face.
- Jingles and music A tom-tom beat and chorus singing of sky blue waters sell the purity of the lakes, a sound as recognisable as the bear.
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