Max Sparber over at MinnPost has a nice piece on the Hamm’s bear, Schmaltz Hero: The Story of the Hamm’s Beer Bear. At my first “real” job, I worked with a guy who had a hand in creating the bear back in the day. And although I’m not sure whether the commercials continued into the 70s and 80s I remember that bear quite well.
The “Hamm’s Bear” commercials definitely lasted into the Eighties. Here are two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wI77Z4KjA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbKhOoRkqIY
There’s another at 15 minutes into this thirty year-old telecast (flashback alert):
http://tcmedianow.com/video/wcco-tv-10pm-report-sunday-january-9-1982-mike-walcher-ann-rubenstein-tom-hanneman-and-dr-walt-lyons-full-report-/l
Since Hamm’s is still around (as an SABMiller brand), I’ve always wondered if we might one day see some new commercials ; )
You, sir, have introduced me to my new rainy-day time-wastin’ website. Great find re: the Hamms commercial!
Where can I buy Hamms Beer?