Somewhat red faced, a California orchards association has had to admit that Red Dog beer, brewed in Canada by Molson Breweries and in the u.s. by Miller Brewing, really is its own dog.

Legally speaking, at least.

Since first catching sight, in the fall of 1994, of the gruff-countenanced, red-hued English bulldog face and accompanying ‘Red Dog’ brand name that identify Red Dog beer, members of Villa Park Orchards Association, located in the city of Orange, have been irked, to put it mildly.

After all, Villa Park introduced a strikingly similar illustration for its Red Dog brand of freshly picked oranges, tangerines and grapefruits way back in the 1930s.

Like the beer label, the fruit label features a red English bulldog face, with a black nose and black detailing to indicate the folds of the skin.

As well, in both illustrations, white spots are drawn into the eyes to give the canine cousins similar glinting stares.

Finally, the Red Dog name on both labels is rendered in bold, sans serif type.

Last week, Villa Park President Butch Leichtfuss finally got around to siccing the association’s lawyer on the case – only to discover there was no case.

Villa Park had let its trademark lapse and, in any event, the association’s trademark was limited to citrus fruit products.

Molson and Miller, for their parts, have registered the trademark, in Canada and the u.s. respectively, for use in the beer category. Miller owns 40% of Molson.

Despite its lack of legal footing, Villa Park remains perturbed at Molson, which launched Red Dog in Canada in May 1994, and Miller, which launched the brand in the u.s. in September the same year.

Leichtfuss concedes he has no way of knowing for certain whether Molson borrowed from the Villa Park label in creating the brand identity for Red Dog beer.

But he says the likeness between the two labels is so strong he has never doubted a relationship exists.

‘You would think they would have called to ask us if it was okay,’ says Leichtfuss, adding, ‘we find it a bit unethical.’

Villa Park, which has 350 association members in Orange, distributes its produce primarily in the u.s., Canada and the Far East.

It is a small, relatively little-known distributor with annual sales of $30-40 million.

Interestingly, some of its labels, including that for Red Dog, have become collectors items, so people are aware of the brands as much for their collectible status as for the fresh fruit they represent.

Leichtfuss says the bulldog portrayed on the Red Dog label belonged to one of the association’s growers in the 1930s.

Over the years, Villa Park has used the Red Dog brand to designate its ‘middle-of-the-road’ grade of fruit.

Leichtfuss says the label has been used infrequently in recent decades – in fact, it hasn’t been used at all in the past 10 years – because the association ships most of its fruit as ‘regular grade’ or ‘top grade.’

But he says the brand has not been retired for good, adding he can only hope its reputation doesn’t suffer because of the new Red Dog.

‘Good old labels are hard to come by, and if, in fact, we needed it in the future, we’d like to have access to it,’ says Leichtfuss.

Notwithstanding the obvious similarities between the labels, Molson, Dollery Rudman Design Associates, the package design firm that created the Red Dog beer label, and bbdo, Molson’s ad agency on Red Dog, all deny the Molson label consciously borrows elements from the Villa Park version.

Jim Dollery, president of Toronto-based Dollery Rudman, says he is aware of Villa Park’s Red Dog label, but says he didn’t come across it until after his firm had created the design for Molson.

Dollery, who explains he discovered the label on a post card in Atlanta, Georgia, before the actual launch of the beer, says Molson’s brief requested he develop a label based on the name Red Dog.

As well, the brief indicated the beer was to appeal to people ‘who know what they want.’

Dollery says the idea to portray an English bulldog on the label came about because actor Jack Nicholson was at that time being considered as the brand spokesperson. (The job eventually went to actor Tommy Lee Jones)

According to Dollery, Nicholson’s personality, even his facial expressions, are reminiscent of a bulldog. ‘If he was a dog, he would be a bulldog.’

Dollery says when saw the Villa Park label, he was struck by the coincidence that it was so similar to his own.

As for whether he passed it on to Molson, he says he thinks he did but can’t recall for sure.

‘I might have dropped it by, `fyi,’ but I can’t remember… There was a lot of stuff going on at the time.’

Gene Lewis, Molson’s vice-president, business development and international, says he never knew until now that the Villa Park Red Dog brand existed.

He admits the designs are similar, but say he believes the Molson design is original. ‘We came up with the idea for Red Dog before we came up with the red bulldog.’

But even if he had learned about the Villa Park label before Red Dog had gone into production, Lewis says it’s possible he would have gone ahead with it anyway.

Given that it was a lapsed trademark and the brands competed in different product categories, Lewis says: ‘I can’t say what I would have done, but I don’t know that I would have definitely said no.’

Larry Tolpin, creative director for bbdo, which has won numerous industry creative awards for its Red Dog advertising, says the idea that the beer label borrows from Villa Park label is ‘too ridiculous to even consider.’

Tolpin says the name and accompanying illustration were the products of a long, complicated creative process.

‘Tons of names were tested’ before Red Dog was selected, he says, noting, ‘the name Red Dog by itself isn’t a new name.’

‘There are other companies and products that use the name. What’s new is the idea of using it for a beer,’ says Tolpin.