Ballantine's Xxx Ale Flat Top Can

Ballantine's Handy Way to Order Ale

Brewed by P. Ballantine & Sons in Newark, New Jersey, this flat top can features the brewery's famous "Handy Way to Order" advertising motif. Introduced in the late 1930s, the campaign encouraged patrons to order Ballantine's Ale without saying a word by simply holding up three fingers in an "OK" hand gesture. This sign cleverly mirrored the company's trademark three interlocking rings, which represented the brewing virtues of Purity, Body, and Flavor.

The label displays the illustrated hand above the slogan "Handy Way to Order" alongside a 1938 copyright credit to P. Ballantine & Sons. Below the brand lettering and the interlocking rings logo, a dedicated distributor box designates the New York distribution office of P. Ballantine & Sons at 24-16 Bridge Plaza in Long Island City. Near the bottom rim, the design incorporates the circular emblem of the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, an industry association active in the post-Prohibition era.

Bearing the mandatory Internal Revenue Tax Paid designation of its era, this container is part of a series of promotional and pictorial variations released by Ballantine in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The gesture-based marketing featured on this can remains one of the most iconic and recognizable advertising concepts in mid-century American brewing.