The next design change resulted in the so-called “Golden Karhu”. This appeared on February 15, 1972. The advertising company that Pori Brewery used, before Pori Brewery was bought by Oy Sinebrychoff Ab, was Turkama
& Kumppanit Oy. After the Pori brewery ownership change, the advertising company changed to Topi Törmä (Interview with Storm, Åland 28.1.1971, Lalli 17.2.1972 and Mainosuutiset 8/1965: 2–3).129
In general, advertisements presented women increasingly as the central element, and they were also presented as active and independent actors, not
129 Later on the advertising company Topi Törmä changed its name to Publicis Törmä (in the 1990s).
at work, namely the patriotic local aspect and the adapted foreign cultural aspect (cf.: Heinonen, Kortti & Pantzar 2003 and Heinonen & Konttinen 2001).
Whether the Emotional and Energetic Interpretants proceeded to the Logical Interpretant and caused a habit change can be only guessed. Evidently, it increased the consumption of beer in the Pori area. On the social level the semiosis proceeded towards accepting (internalisation) the mild alcoholic beverages, like beer and wine. One result was the change in female drinking habits i.e., women began to consume more mild alcoholic beverages (altering meanings occurring in the ZPD achieving a habit change).
The multiple associations become clear when focusing on the bear’s head as the icon of a bear or as referring to the seal of the town of Pori. The Object can thus be a bear, the town of Pori, or if the sign is taken as a symbol, the Object might be locality. It is important to note that all of these can be there simultaneously and the way the sign-action proceeds depends on the context, the situation of the perceiving (selection of the perceived affordances), and using the product, as well as the previous experiences of consumers. The same consumer or a consumer group may proceed on a different semiosis from the same sign (the logo – the head of a bear) depending on the context, situation, etc. Furthermore, as we will see, the Object can change with time. For example, when the sales districts were still valid (from 1943 to 1967) the Karhu brand was sold only in the Pori district, therefore the iconic and indexical connection of the bear sign to the seal or coat of arms of Pori was clear. Later, the sign of the bear will grow increasingly into a symbol which has no connection to the coat of arms or the seal; the idea of locality is preserved in the interpretations but through the slogans that emphasise the brewing place, e.g., “Porin olutta”
and “Porilaista”.
Although women consumed Karhu beer more than before, it was still considered to be exclusively masculine. According to interviews and marketing research, the Karhu brand was targeted towards men. In the light of the former statements, it was no wonder that the “striped label” (Figure 17, p. 121 and 18, p. 122) was not a success and had to be withdrawn from the market. According to the company documents and interviews, the label was too feminine. In Kress and Leeuwen’s (2001) approach there are many elements pertaining to soft and feminine aspects, for example, the curved frame around the logo and the name tag, the curved font of the name tag and the extensive use of
The label was advertised with the slogan “Tippaakaan ei ole muutettu – paitsi etiketti”132 (see A & O Myyntineuvoja 10.2.1972 and Appendix 4). Oy Tilgmann Ab still issued the labels as it had been doing with previous versions from 1961 onwards. The advertising campaign was large, including print advertising, outdoor advertising and since the Medium-Strength Beer Act had come into effect also advertising in grocery shops (Kansan lehti 15.2.1972, Lalli 17.2.1972, Tamperelainen 18.2.1972). Shortly after, the theme of a “closed season” was introduced (see Figure 24). The campaign presented different kinds of colour images of situations where a man needed a break from hard physical work and where beer was the welcomed refreshment. All the campaigns that the Karhu brand had run underlined the masculine aspects.
The marketing strategy has continued along the same lines up to recent times
132 “Not a drop has been changed – only the label”.
only as symbols of beauty for the viewer ’s pleasure.130 The Karhu brand, however, kept its themes that were directed mainly towards male consumers, e.g. see Figure 24 below for the theme of a “closed season”.
Figure 23. The new label versions from 1972-3. A presents the mild beer label and B presents the medium-strength beer label (© Archives of Pori Brewery and © Oy Sinebrychoff Ab).131
130 See details in Mari Soikkeli (2000) “Olutmainokset 60-luvun alkolipoliittisen diskurssin ilmentäjänä” and Heinonen and Konttinen (2001: 186 and 203).
131 There was also a label II B excise group. It was never sold, though. In Sweden, the excise group II has been preserved. Some of the imported beers went to Sweden, thus it is possible to fi nd versions of the different beer labels that contain the excise group II symbol.
Figure 24. These advertisements were presented around 1972 employing the theme of “closed season”, presenting work related to the countryside (© Oy Sinebrychoff Ab Internet site a).
B
A
140 141 (2005). The campaign contained fi ve different themes of a “closed season” (e.g.
advertisements in magazines: Seura 10.3.1972 and 16.2.1972, Kotiposti 10.3.1972, Hymy 10.3.1972, Valitut Palat 7/1972).
Some technical developments in printing and a new label
In 1968–73, aluminium folio was introduced into the printing of labels.
Aluminium folio created a shinier look and was more durable. Soon after, spray folio was introduced and from the 1980s onwards the golden parts of the labels were imprinted, which gives a stronger impression of the metal gold (Siipivirta and Matti Elo, interview with Ketonen).
Oy Sinebrychoff Ab changed the label of Karhu to create a new continuous look for the brand. The change was carried out by the atelier head of Topi Törmä133, Olli Saukko, in January 1975. The design elements somewhat resembled the old label where the line drawing of the bear’s head appeared with the name tag KARHU in capital letters (see Figures 25, p. 141 and 26, p.
143). The slogan “Porilaista”134 was changed to “Porin olutta”, which virtually has the same meaning as “Porilaista” although the slogan of “Porin olutta”
points more directly to the brewing place. Thus the main signs of the label were preserved and the emphasis on locality continued.
The colours that were chosen for the labels were red as the dominant colour and black as the supplementary colour for the medium-strength beer and black and red for the strong beer. The black colour was (and is still) used to connote meanings of strength, and belongs to the “general” beer signs (see cans, Figure 31, p. 159). Black is also used in many other places and with a similar meaning.
Both beer types had a golden rim around the label. According to the personnel paper Lekkeri, the campaign succeeded (Lekkeri 1/1976).
It has been stated that the problem that the label with the line drawing of a bear’s head (Figure 15, p. 119; 16, p. 120 and 19, p. 122) had was that the drawing was used as the logo for both the brewery and the beer brand.135 To
133 Former Topi Törmä advertising company.
134 “Beer from Pori”.
135 The problem was somewhat similar with the Koff brand, since the word “Koff” is also associated with Oy Sinebrychoff Ab itself. The Olvi brand has the same concept, namely, Olvi is the name of both the brewery and the beer brewed by it.
Figure 25. The new label designed by Olli Saukko of Topi Törmä in 1975. (© Oy Sinebrychoff Ab archives). The brown Karhu label A was used only for a short while, for advertising purposes around August 1984. Labels B 1 and 2 were used in 1975-1979. The colour of the mild beer labels had to be changed to differ from the rest. Labels C 1 and 2 show greater differences in the colouring; pay attention to the neck label. These labels were used around 1980-1983. However, in the Karhu label, only the name tag KARHU and the background colour were changed as well as the neck labels. In addition, the die cutting was dropped from the design. Label D presents the IVA – label from 1980-1983. There were no award stamps on the labels. Later, award stamps were reintroduced.
A
B1 B2
C1 C2 D
have the same sign for the logo of the company and for one of the company’s brands may have caused diffi culties in creating separate images for the company and for its different products. The idea of a bear’s head was still maintained but it was transformed somewhat to be more masculine in order that it not to be confused with the old label of the Karhu brand but still to have a continuous look from one version to the next. The red label had many of the elements that traditionally belong to beer labels, such as award stamps, crown (crown as a heraldic-like sign) and the year the brewery was founded.
When the Prohibition of Advertising Alcohol Act came out (1.3.1977), the mild beer (I) label’s background was at fi rst brown. This was later changed to red, thus the appearance of the labels in terms of its strength became more uniform (see Figure 25, p. 141). The difference between the excise groups are indicated by the colour of the name tag, by the colour behind the name tag, by the background colour (for IVA-beer) and by the different design of neck labels. The die cutting was dropped from the refi ned versions of the 1980s labels (Figure 25 C and D, p. 141) (Siipivirta and Elo, and interview with Roni Bensky).
New designs in the 1980s
On the red mild beer label of the Karhu brand, the ingredients are indicated (malt, Humulus lupulus hop shoots, water, and substances like ascorbic acid).
It was a new obligatory element to be added to the label. Martti Lönnqvist redesigned the label for the celebration of the 125th and the 130th anniversary of Pori Brewery (see Figure 26, for the 125th anniversary and Figure 27, for the 130th anniversary). The beer for the 125th anniversary was launched in 1978.
The new label did not have many changes in design. There was the mark of the anniversary, and the slogan “Porin olutta” was introduced on the neck label.
The award stamps were introduced back in the early 1980s (Figure 27). The label also had the new obligatory elements on it. Other design elements that had been introduced to the label were the banderols around the anniversary year and the name tag Karhu with the word “Juhla” (celebration, see Figure 26).
Figure 26. The new label of the Karhu brand in 1978 for the 125th anniversary (1/2-short-necked bottle), designed by Martti (Mara) Lönnqvist. (© Oy Sinebrychoff Ab archives).
Figure 27. The label of the Karhu brand in 1983-84 for the130th anniversary. A presents the medium-strength beer and B presents the strong beer label (© Oy Sinebrychoff Ab archives) designed by Lönnqvist.
144 145
change the design composition that much. Bigger bottles had a larger sized label, which enabled emphasising certain features e.g. the celebration year.
In the early 1980s, small advertisements were published in local newspapers in Satakunta, Pori, Rauma and Turku. The campaigns changed when Oy Sinebrychoff Ab bought Pori brewery. With the change of the advertising company, advertising campaigns became smaller, i.e., the advertising of Karhu appeared only in the print media and on outdoor billboards. According to Matti Jaakola, Karhu was strategically positioned as the second brand of Sinebrychoff products (interview with Jaakola).
In the early1980s, an experimental campaign for the Karhu brand was launched. The campaign included outdoor and print advertising with the image of a real bear in nature. The advertising campaign series to which the advertising with the real bear (see Figure 28) belonged was designed by art director Jouko Roponen. Roponen also designed many of the small print advertisements (interview with Bensky).
The campaign (Figure 28) in 1983 presented the slogan: “Karhussa on luonnetta”137. The idea was to emphasise the strength, purity and the myths that are associated with the bear. Thus the connotations work here on multiple levels, through language and through the visual elements. The images of nature were rather popular at the times e.g., the advertisements of Lapin Kulta and the new Koff TV advertisements, Camel boots, etc., used nature elements largely in their advertisements (interview with Tatarinov).138
137 “Karhu has nature/character”.
138 In the advertisements of the 1980s, the idea that women would drink beer or that women could be the target group was ruled out all together. The advertisements were directed mainly towards men. Some subjects were not even thought to be possible to show in advertisements. These included drinking beer without earning it. It was not possible to think of beer as a source of pleasure or enjoyment. Another unacceptable theme was having beer exclusively for fun or using beer in a social context for enjoyment (cf.:
Soikkeli 2000 and Tigertstedt 1985). Thus the advertisements made for TV consisted of a series of men struggling against the forces of nature. The men ventured over rapids and through forests, climbed mountains or crossed rivers with a rope, etc. After the men had managed to overcome these hardships they were allowed to enjoy beer as a reward for succeeding in their ventures. It was also important that the men drink the bottle of beer in a sideways position. The sound of drinking had to be heard. Sideways drinking was Figure 28. The advertisement that was made for the campaign in 1983. Layout by Jouko Roponen
(© Publicis Helsinki Oy).
New bottle sizes (a half-litre bottle, with a short neck was introduced for the celebration)136 became the main design introduction (Interview with Bensky).
In Finland the beer bottles are standardised, and the only way to include a new bottle design into the overall format is to create different celebration beers and have these beers bottled in different bottle sizes and sometimes also in different bottle shapes. The celebration beers are brewed only in restricted amounts and only for a particular occasion. The bottle shape does affect the other signs presented on the bottle, for example, the shape of the label, which again in its turn affects the label composition and the signs that fi t into the design of the label, not to mention how the bottle shape already itself provokes different interpretations. However, for the Karhu brand the bottle sizes did not
136 The half-litre short-necked bottle was standardised in 1938 and the 1/3-litre bottle replaced it gradually after 1953.
companies (Mainosuutiset, 1952–65, Mainostaja, 1934–1972 and interviews with Storm and Bengt Hällsten). 139