What Kind Of Kid Loves A Johnny Tremain Premium

It must have seemed a natural for Armour Hot Dogs to offer a premium to tie-in with the release of Walt Disney's Johnny Tremain (1957). The Revolutionary War-themed drama was released, appropriately enough, in July, on the 27th to be exact. So the specially marked packages of Armour Hot Dogs were on the grocers' shelves in plenty of time for the Fourth of July, one of the biggest days of the year for hot-dog consumption in the US. The premium offered along with the hot dogs? A "silver" (actually plastic) coin based on a prop in the film: the badge worn as a pendant by the Sons of Liberty, complete with an engraved image of the Liberty Tree. In the words of Walt Disney himself: "Medallions like this were the secret identification badge of the Sons of Liberty. They were called Liberty Tree Medals, after the famous elm tree which stood in the heart of Boston." On the reverse of the giveaway coin: one of the characters or scenes from Johnny Tremain, including the Boston Tea Party, patriot and silversmith Paul Revere on his Midnight Ride, lead female character Priscilla Lapham and of course, silversmith apprentice Johnny Tremain himself. The full set of six Liberty Tree Medals undoubtedly sold a lot of hot dogs as Johnny's fans sought to collect all six "silver" coins. Whether you eat any hot dogs today or have the vegan tofu variety, or something else entirely, Happy Independence Day 2016!