Ballantine - Park Concert

Concert in the park

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, a small brass band is giving a concert in the park. The conductor enthusiastically leads his musicians, whilst the audience listens. But soon, attention also turns to Ballantine’s beer. The advert is presented as a puppet film, interspersed with a few live-action shots of the bottle and the product. The cheerful atmosphere and the combination of an old-fashioned park concert with a beer advert make the film typical of American advertising culture of the 1950s.

A Dutch film for America

The advert was produced at Joop Geesink’s studios in Amsterdam. It is an example of the international commissions through which Dollywood established itself as a major player in advertising film during the 1950s. During this period, the Dutch studio produced several adverts for the American beer brand Ballantine. Kaboom lists this film as Ballantine: Brewmaster (1958), directed by Henk Kabos. The film lasts approximately one minute and combines puppet animation with live-action footage. The earlier Ballantine film Stage Coach (1957) was also directed by Kabos. The films form part of a series of Ballantine adverts produced by Dollywood between 1957 and 1960.

Puppets on television

In the 1950s, television was still a relatively new medium, but in the United States, television advertising was already well established. Ballantine was, moreover, a major advertiser on television. Although television broadcasts were still in black and white, many advertising films were originally shot in colour. This meant that the same films could also be shown in cinemas, whilst a black-and-white version was available for television.

The Three-Ring Sign

A striking feature of the Ballantine’s campaign is the Three-Ring Sign. The beer brand’s logo consists of three interlocking rings. In several adverts, one of the puppets makes the corresponding gesture. This requires something rather special. In this scene, the puppet has four fingers and a thumb, whilst most Dollywood puppets – modelled on Disney animation – have only three fingers and a thumb. It is not known for certain whether the gesture was intended to encourage pub-goers to use it when ordering Ballantine’s. In any case, it created a striking link between movement and the brand logo.

Brewer’s Gold

Brewer’s Gold was the campaign’s main selling point. Ballantine presented the name as a special variety of hop that gave the beer its distinctive flavour. The Ballantine films show how Dollywood was able to repackage a recurring advertising theme time and again. The setting changes – from a Wild West stagecoach to a park concert – but the ingredients remain recognisable: puppets, music, humour, the Brewer’s Gold song and the distinctive three-ring gesture. Concert in the Park is thus a fine example of the international advertising productions with which Dollywood made a name for itself in the 1950s.

The song

The advert is carried by a cheerful male choir. The lyrics are in keeping with the limerick-style songs also used in other Ballantine adverts from this period:

“On sunny Sunday afternoons we play the songs of old;
we love to play for Ballantine, the ale with Brewer’s Gold.”

The chorus then praises Ballantine’s “golden flavour”. Later, the orchestra is celebrated:

“Now when we play that hum-pa-pah, the folks cheer all the time;
for Brewer’s Gold, the flavour hops they use in Ballantine.”

At the end, the conductor stands next to a large bottle of Ballantine. He begins:

“It’s the genuine…”

whereupon the male choir replies:

“…ale with Brewer’s Gold.”