Oops mixed up

Creating labels is a craft. Besides designing and inventing drawings and subjects, the label is also a small rulebook. Weight, alcohol content, contents, allergens, warnings and much more must be listed on each can. Even when you put out as many beers as Uiltje, sometimes a mistake slips in. That's why the entire company has to proofread the label and pay attention to the small print, large print, icons and speech bubbles to catch any mistakes. Even after Gerben Valkema finishes the label, it can happen that the label still needs a last minute adjustment. Such was the case with Smokey the Pear.

The original label (l) and the new label (r)

                              

In this case, it involved two modifications. First, the creator of the recipe, our own packaging manager James, had to be immortalized on the label. Second, the brewery commented that not the pears, but the malt had been smoked. With Gerben on speed dial, any problem can be solved and soon he drew a few more barley stalks on the label.

 

Fortunately, we are not the only ones who have gone wrong when it comes to Smokey the Pear, or rather, Smokey the Bear.

We take you back to Christmas 1955 in Atlanta, Georgia.

These are boom times for toy retailers and everything is flying over the counter. Tolls, rocking horses, BB guns (that was okay back then), books and, of course, dolls. A popular doll at the time was the Patti Prays doll.

 

In fact, this little doll was known for the fact that as soon as the doll was laid on its side, a sweet prayer sounded from a girl's voice:

 

'Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
God bless Mommy,
God bless Daddy,
Amen.'

 

Christmas is dawning and kinnekes sit with their hearts squinting expectantly at the Christmas tree in anticipation of whether Patti Prays will be under it. But first, back to a few days before Christmas. In the neighboring state, South Carolina, the Forest Service there organized a campaign against forest fires featuring none other than Smokey the Bear. A mascot created to warn children about forest fires. Especially for this campaign, the Forest Service ordered 96 Smokey the Bear stuffed toys with a sound system that uttered the following text in a deep growling voice:

 

'I'm Smokey the Bear, I'm the Smokey the Bear.
'Running and looking for smoke in the air.
'I warn careless people and tell them "take care."
'Please prevent forest fires, says Smokey the Bear.'

 

At the presentation and issue of the bears, the unsuspecting presenter tested the bear and to everyone's surprise, Smokey the Bear very sweetly said "Now I lay me down to sleep,". The Forest Service was not amused and notified the doll manufacturer. In fact, the doll manufacturer had accidentally switched a sound system with Patti Prays'. Back to Christmas in Atlanta. So there must have been a girl somewhere in Atlanta who joyfully unwrapped a Patti Prays, went to sleep and heard in a deep growling voice with:

 

'I'm Smokey the Bear, I'm the Smokey the Bear.

'Running and looking for smoke in the air.'

 

I don't know what the moral of this story is, but at least I feel sorry for the parents of the girl who had to stick this traumatic wound.

Resources

 

DOES TALKING DOLL THROW A SPANNER IN CHILD'S CHRISTMAS MEAL? "Nijmeegsch dagblad". Nijmegen, 23-12-1955, p. 3. Consulted on Delpher on 19-01-2023,

https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMRANM03:048402072:mpeg21:p00003

 

Vintage 1957 Ideal Patti Prays Talking Doll 18″ Tall, Ebay

 

Vintage 1960s Smokey the Bear, Ebay

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