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Hamm's Bear
If you were a child in Minnesota during the 1950s and 1960s, one of your early memories may be watching a black-and-white cartoon bear in the Hamm’s Beer television commercials. The Hamm’s bear became one of several iconic characters linked to well-known Minnesota products and legends. The popular and award-winning Hamm's commercials, part of the Land of Sky Blue Waters advertising campaign, featured the clumsy and appealing bear, a catchy jingle, and a drumbeat.
Theodore H. Hamm, a butcher in Germany, emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-eight. In 1856 he moved from Chicago to St. Paul; in about 1865 he acquired the Excelsior Brewery when a friend could not repay the brewery mortgage that Hamm held. Located on Phalen Creek in St. Paul, the brewery expanded through the years and was renamed the Theodore H. Hamm Brewing Company in 1896.
Early advertising for the Hamm Brewery included an eagle on items such as metal beer trays, signs, glassware, calendars, and bottle labels. Early graphic art included children, women, and families and claimed that drinking beer could improve health. In the 1930s, following the repeal of Prohibition, newspaper advertisements described the beer as smooth, mellow, and refreshing.
In 1945, Campbell-Mithun of Minneapolis became the advertising agency for the Hamm’s company. To extend the beer’s appeal outside of Minnesota and to promote where the beer was brewed, the Land of Sky Blue Waters advertising campaign was created. It featured lakes and waves, the moon and stars, and the north woods, but no humans or animals. A jingle was added with a distinctive drumbeat and the lyrics, “From the land of sky-blue waters, from the land of pines, lofty balsams, comes the beer refreshing—Hamm's, the beer refreshing. Hamm's!” The phrase “land of sky-blue waters” is a loose translation of Mni Sota Makoce, a name for the homeland of the Dakota people; the jingle’s lyrics were inspired by Longfellow’s poem “Song of Hiawatha.”
Controversy exists about who first “created” the bear. Most agree that the character was born in 1952 at Freddie’s restaurant in Minneapolis at a meeting with Cleo Hovel, creative director for Campbell-Mithun, and Howard Swift, an animator who worked for the California TV production company Swift-Chaplin. Hovel usually gets the credit for drawing the bear on a napkin in response to the idea to add an animal character to the Sky Blue Waters campaign. Throughout the decades, however, many others were involved and credited with drawing the bear and creating the Hamm’s commercials.
An early memorable television commercial featured a birling (log-rolling) bear trying to balance on a log cut down by a beaver. Through the years, the bear, often with forest friends, was the star in many commercials. He was a sportsman and bowled, played hockey and baseball, golfed, skied, fished, and camped. He also was a magician and played the accordion. The commercials were so popular that newspapers printed the television broadcast schedule so fans could watch them.
Like other ad campaigns of the 1950s, parts of the Hamm's campaign that featured the bear drew on racial stereotypes―in this case, of Native Americans. Some TV commercials featured a caricature of a Native man. Most, however, evoked a generic Native “atmosphere” only through the jingle and its vocals.
The bear appeared on a wide variety of Hamm’s promotional products, including calendars, playing cards, placemats, napkins, coasters, and salt and pepper shakers. Red Wing Potteries, a Minnesota company, produced a Hamm’s bear bank. Sports memorabilia was popular, with the bear appearing on baseball, football, and hockey team schedules.
In 1969, Heublein, then the owner of Hamm’s, ended the Campbell-Mithun advertising contract. With that, the classic bear commercials ended because Heublein wanted to focus on the brewing process and not an animated bear or other wild animals. The cartoon bear returned in the early 1970s to revive the Hamm’s brand, then disappeared. In 1973, a live, male Kodiak bear named Sasha, with his trainer, appeared in Hamm’s advertising. In the same year, a new bear, Theodore H. Bear or T. H. Bear, was introduced but was short-lived.
In 2000, Miller Brewing Company—an owner of Hamm’s after Heublein—discontinued using the bear in advertising. Although the bear never drank a beer in a commercial, a controversy had developed about the use of animals and cartoons to sell adult products and their impact on children.
Bibliography
“150 Influential Minnesotans, the Runners-Up, Fictional Characters.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 18, 2000.
Brown, Curt. “Hamm’s Bear Bobblehead Shakes up Brewer.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 7, 2002.
“Earl and the Bear: Hamm’s Ad Campaign with a Great Story.” Bruins Gazette 4, no. 2 (July 2002): 1, 3, 12.
Harris, Moira F. “Hamm’s Breweriana.” Collector’s Showcase 11, no. 2 (March 1991): 38–46.
——— . “Ho-ho-ho! It Bears Repeating–Advertising Characters in the Land of Sky Blue Waters.” Minnesota History 57, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 23–35.
——— . The Paws of Refreshment. St. Paul: Pogo Press, 1990.
Ingrassia, Robert. “Hamm’s Bear Gets a Home.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, December 9, 2004.
Lewis, Matthew. “Just Who Did Create the Hamm’s Bear?” St. Paul City Business, February 13–26, 1985.
Morphew, Jon. “Hamm’s Monument becomes a Reality.” Bruins Gazette 7, no. 3 (November 2005): 1, 4, 8–9.
Parker, John R. Parker’s Hamm’s Beer First Edition Reference Manual. Volume 1. [Minnesota]: JRP’s PC Press, 2001.
——— . Parker’s Hamm’s Beer First Edition Reference Manual. Volume 2. [Minnesota]: JRP’s PC Press, 2002.
Schnitker, Kirk. Conversation and emails with the author, April 12, 2017.
——— . "The Hamm’s Bear Birthday Grand Jury." Transcript. The Hamm’s Club, November 1, 2000. Personal collection of the author.
Stein, Bill. Conversation with the author, October 5, 2017.
Related Resources
Primary
“Mithun Picks President.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 26, 1969.
Theodore Hamm Brewing Company records, 1900–1976 (bulk 1967–1974)
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01221.xml
Description: Advertising and marketing files documenting the company’s history. See especially “Advertising History of Theo. Hamm Brewing Company, 1946–August 1968, ca. 1969,” compiled by Campbell-Mithun, Inc. (box 1) and materials on the “Man, Bear, and Beer promotion” (box 8).
Secondary
“Theo. Hamm Shifts Advertising Account.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 10, 1969.
Web
Jacobson, Don. “Brand of Sky Blue Waters.” The Rake, November 11, 2004.
http://rakemag.com/2004/11/brand-sky-blue-waters/
Sparber, Marx. “Schmaltz Hero: The Story of the Hamm’s Beer Bear.” MinnPost, January 9, 2012.
https://www.minnpost.com/max-about-town/2012/01/schmaltz-hero-story-hamms-beer-bear
Webb, Tom. “Remembering the Theo H. Hamm Brewery.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 13, 2015.
http://www.twincities.com/2009/10/03/remembering-theo-hamm-brewing-co/
Related Images

Hamm's Beer bank and calendar
Plastic Hamm's Beer promotional bank and calendar, ca. 1960.
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Theodore Hamm
Drawing of Theodore Hamm by Nicholas Richard Brewer, 1880.
Public domain
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Theodore Hamm Brewing Company
Theodore Hamm Brewing Company, 681 East Minnehaha Avenue, St. Paul, 1880.
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Still image of a Hamm's TV commercial
Still image of a Hamm's TV commercial showing the Hamm's bear playing baseball, early 1950s.
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Hamm’s bear and little bear
Still image of a Hamm's TV commercial showing the Hamm's bear and little bear, early 1950s.
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Placemat advertising Hamm’s Beer
White paper placemat with scalloped edges advertising Hamm's Beer, ca. 1950s.
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Hamm’s Beer needle case
Plastic needle case advertising Hamm's Beer, ca. 1950s.
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Hamm’s bear bank
Hamm’s bear bank made by Red Wing Pottery, Red Wing, Minnesota, late 1950s.
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Hamm's Beer promotional sign
“Hamm’s Good Cheer” holiday promotional sign featuring the Hamm’s bear, little bear, and squirrel, mid-to-late 1950s.
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Hamm's Beer float in St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade
St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade, 1957, featuring the Hamm’s Beer float with the Hamm’s bear, squirrels, and duck. From the St. Paul Winter Carnival Photograph Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.
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Hamm's Beer float in St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade
St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade, 1958, featuring the Hamm’s Beer float “Golden Page in History.” The Hamm’s bear wears a coonskin cap. From the St. Paul Winter Carnival Photograph Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.
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Hamm’s Beer float in St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade
Hamm’s Beer float with Hamm's bear and dogsled in the St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade, 1959.
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Hamm's Beer promotional paper bag
Hamm’s Beer promotional paper bag featuring the bear playing baseball, mid-to-late 1960s.
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Hamm's Beer salt and pepper shakers
A pair of salt and pepper shakers modeled after the Hamm's bear, ca. 1970s.
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Minnesota Twins schedule advertising Hamm’s Beer
Tri-fold pocket schedule for the Minnesota Twins 1972 baseball season featuring an advertisement for Hamm's Beer and WCCO Radio, 1972.
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Turning Point
In 1969, Heublein, owner of Hamm’s, stops using the recognizable, award-winning cartoon bear in its advertising.
Chronology
1865
1896
1945
1952
1953
1966
1969
1973
1973
2000
2005
Bibliography
“150 Influential Minnesotans, the Runners-Up, Fictional Characters.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 18, 2000.
Brown, Curt. “Hamm’s Bear Bobblehead Shakes up Brewer.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 7, 2002.
“Earl and the Bear: Hamm’s Ad Campaign with a Great Story.” Bruins Gazette 4, no. 2 (July 2002): 1, 3, 12.
Harris, Moira F. “Hamm’s Breweriana.” Collector’s Showcase 11, no. 2 (March 1991): 38–46.
——— . “Ho-ho-ho! It Bears Repeating–Advertising Characters in the Land of Sky Blue Waters.” Minnesota History 57, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 23–35.
——— . The Paws of Refreshment. St. Paul: Pogo Press, 1990.
Ingrassia, Robert. “Hamm’s Bear Gets a Home.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, December 9, 2004.
Lewis, Matthew. “Just Who Did Create the Hamm’s Bear?” St. Paul City Business, February 13–26, 1985.
Morphew, Jon. “Hamm’s Monument becomes a Reality.” Bruins Gazette 7, no. 3 (November 2005): 1, 4, 8–9.
Parker, John R. Parker’s Hamm’s Beer First Edition Reference Manual. Volume 1. [Minnesota]: JRP’s PC Press, 2001.
——— . Parker’s Hamm’s Beer First Edition Reference Manual. Volume 2. [Minnesota]: JRP’s PC Press, 2002.
Schnitker, Kirk. Conversation and emails with the author, April 12, 2017.
——— . "The Hamm’s Bear Birthday Grand Jury." Transcript. The Hamm’s Club, November 1, 2000. Personal collection of the author.
Stein, Bill. Conversation with the author, October 5, 2017.
Related Resources
Primary
“Mithun Picks President.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 26, 1969.
Theodore Hamm Brewing Company records, 1900–1976 (bulk 1967–1974)
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01221.xml
Description: Advertising and marketing files documenting the company’s history. See especially “Advertising History of Theo. Hamm Brewing Company, 1946–August 1968, ca. 1969,” compiled by Campbell-Mithun, Inc. (box 1) and materials on the “Man, Bear, and Beer promotion” (box 8).
Secondary
“Theo. Hamm Shifts Advertising Account.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 10, 1969.
Web
Jacobson, Don. “Brand of Sky Blue Waters.” The Rake, November 11, 2004.
http://rakemag.com/2004/11/brand-sky-blue-waters/
Sparber, Marx. “Schmaltz Hero: The Story of the Hamm’s Beer Bear.” MinnPost, January 9, 2012.
https://www.minnpost.com/max-about-town/2012/01/schmaltz-hero-story-hamms-beer-bear
Webb, Tom. “Remembering the Theo H. Hamm Brewery.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 13, 2015.
http://www.twincities.com/2009/10/03/remembering-theo-hamm-brewing-co/