Creation and early development
Although often misattributed to Canada, the mascot concept originated in the United States. Until the early 1970s, the A&W's primary mascot in the United States and Canada was the Burger Family. A prototype of what later became The Great Root Bear appeared in kids' meal bags at the American chain in the early 1970s, similar to the later design. Bears were already popular then, with examples including Baloo from Disney's then-recent adaptation of The Jungle Book, Disney's acquisition of the licensing rights to Winnie-the-Pooh and the success of the Hanna-Barbera character Yogi Bear. In 1971, an A&W franchise in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, used a completely different costume for a character tentatively named "Root Bear"; in late April that year, the character awoke from hibernation and washed customers' car windows. Another proposed influence was Rooti, a panda-like bear for Canada Dry's root beer in the 1960s.
By the early 1970s, A&W was losing ground to McDonald's and KFC in both the United States and Canada. The Canadian operations were sold to Unilever in an attempt to keep the chain afloat. In 1972, A&W's newly independent Canadian branch appointed Ron Woodall to develop a television commercial and a new mascot. The goal was to create a campaign that did not show food or specific eating habits. If the campaign failed, Unilever would sell the chain.
Woodall sketched concepts and went to Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park, north of Vancouver, to film the first commercial and pitch the new mascot. This approach frustrated some A&W staff, as it did not depict restaurant operations, which Woodall preferred to avoid. A focus group was set up in Toronto to gather public opinions, and the results of the earlier test in Vancouver were discarded. A prototype of the first commercial was shown to a test audience and performed well enough for Unilever to proceed. With a limited budget, a commercial was shot in Alberta. Edmonton was initially considered, but rapid development led to rejecting it as a location, and nearby rural areas experienced heavy traffic. Pincher Creek was ultimately selected. For the shoot, hotels were booked past their seasonal closing; the bear was performed by a ballerina (Katherine); and characters resembling the Marx Brothers, Hulk Hogan, and Evel Knievel appeared, following the bear.[7]
International adoption
Before long, The Great Root Bear was adopted by the American A&W chain, and its restaurants in Asia.[8][9][10] In the United States, the previous A&W mascots, the Burger Family, were phased out beginning in 1973.[11] Although, according to A&W, Rooty was "born" on June 19, 1974, earlier press materials given to franchisees claim that he was "born" in September 1973.[12] The costume, with an animated-style appearance, was designed by the same company that made costumes for Disneyland.[13] The design cost $25,000 .[14]
In Canada
The Great Root Bear, with a distinct design, continued to appear in television commercials for the separate Canadian chain. The Canadian chain registered its own trademark for the mascot in 1978, and on September 11, 1995, for his French name, Grand Ours A&W.[29][30]
The bear and the tuba jingle that accompanied him became a long-running campaign, created by Griffiths-Gibson of Vancouver (the tune, entitled "Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum", was released as a single in April 1977 by Attic Records, credited to "Major Ursus," a play on Ursa Major, or "great bear").[31][32] Composer and B.C. Hall of Fame inductee Miles Ramsay helped compose the song.[33] The jingle was performed by Vancouver jazz, classical, and session trombonist Sharman King and was often accompanied by the slogan "Follow the Great Root Bear to A&W".[34]
Decline and rebound
In 2000, A&W donated 30 teddy bear versions of its mascot to the Bears on Patrol children's safety program in Oakland County, Michigan.[37]
In 2009, as the bear was being downplayed nationally, the Lodi restaurant (owned by Peter Knight) registered the @awrestaurants Twitter username, which the national chain adopted within a couple of years. Some posts in spring 2009 were written in the bear's voice (then unnamed). The mascot also appeared at the opening of a new restaurant in Garden City, Kansas, in early 2009.[38]
A new administration took over A&W in the United States in 2011. Liz Bazner described it as "criminal" that the chain was not using the mascot and put him in charge of the Twitter account.[39] A bronze statue of the bear holding a mug was erected in the lobby of the new headquarters in Lexington.[40] In March 2012, A&W released a video showing the bear working at the building during construction, with comedic mishaps. Around this time, the name Rooty appeared and became official.
