A national hot dog marketing campaign celebrating America’s 250th birthday will feature Revolutionary-era imagery, George Washington and historic works of art — but not Marblehead’s beloved “The Spirit of ’76.”
In March, the Select Board unanimously rejected a request from Kayem Foods to use Archibald M. Willard’s iconic painting in a nationwide advertising campaign commemorating the nation’s semiquincentennial.
The Chelsea-based hot dog manufacturer launched the campaign, titled “There When It Mattered Most,” on June 4. The promotion digitally reimagines famous American artworks and historical scenes by inserting hot dogs into key moments from the nation’s founding, casting the summertime staple as an unlikely participant in the birth of the United States.
For Marblehead officials, however, altering one of the town’s most cherished treasures was a bridge too far.
Select Board member Jim Zisson did not mince words.
“A wounded or dying soldier is depicted in the right foreground [of Willard’s painting], and they have that soldier holding a hot dog,” Zisson said during the board’s discussion. “I am voting no.”
“The Spirit of ’76,” which hangs in Abbot Hall, is among Marblehead’s most recognizable landmarks. The painting depicts three generations of patriots marching to the beat of a drum during the Revolutionary War. Its central drummer was inspired by Marblehead resident Samuel Whittemore, who became a symbol of Revolutionary courage after surviving a brutal encounter with British troops at age 78.
Marblehead history is still reflected in the Kayem campaign, however. Among the works reimagined is Emanuel Leutze’s iconic 1851 painting, “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It shows Gen. John Glover’s Marblehead regiment rowing Gen. George Washington across the Delaware. In Kayem’s new rendering, one soldier is grilling hot dogs on the boat.
Kayem announced the campaign in May, describing it as a whimsical effort to celebrate both America’s 250th anniversary and what it called “America’s most iconic food.” The company partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which plans to display selected campaign pieces in its cafeteria from June 24 through July 24.
The campaign debuted publicly at Faneuil Hall Marketplace and is scheduled to travel to additional locations across New England this summer.
In promotional materials, Kayem President and CEO Matt Monkiewicz called the campaign “unexpected and fun,” saying it honors both the company’s New England roots and the nation’s milestone birthday.
But in Marblehead, officials decided some Revolutionary symbols are better left untouched.
At least for now, “The Spirit of ’76” remains hot dog-free.
