Tuesday’s ad is an old woodcut piece of art used to promote Ballantine Ale. Whether it was used in an advertisement or for some other promotional purpose is unclear. It’s visually telling the presumably mythical story of how the Ballantine three-ring logo was born, when its founder, Peter Ballantine, had set down his glass a few times, accidentally creating a perfect geometric shape known as Borromean rings. As the first woodcut suggests “Under his glass Peter Ballantine found a trade-mark now famous.” The Borromean rings became Ballantine’s logo, which did make the brand very recognizable.
In the second woodcut, the incredibly buff Peter Ballantine is pointing to the rings, presumably showing them to someone else, unless he’s in the habit of pointing and talking to himself, of course. And just look at the grip he keeps on his beer. No one is taking that glass away from him.
Still, pretty awesome art.