Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” follows the tumultuous history of the titular celebrity couple and how their lives are turned upside down when a private recording is stolen from their home. The narrative approaches the fateful incident from multiple angles, introducing a variety of characters who play a role in – or are otherwise affected by – the spread of the explosive tape.
Episode 6 takes us into Pamela’s youth and the chance meeting that eventually discovers her as a model. The way the show portrays Pamela’s early life is quite remarkable, she was discovered during a football game by a company called Labatt. So how right is “Pam & Tommy” about this momentous event? If you’re wondering how the real Pamela Anderson was discovered, we have the story!
Is Labatt a real company?
Let’s start with the business that (according to the show) became Pamela’s gateway to stardom. In “Pam & Tommy”, a Labatt’s Beer marketing executive approaches Pamela at a football game, telling her to contact him if she is interested in modeling.
Labatt is a real business that has been around since 1847. The Canadian-headquartered brewing company is widely known for its range of beers and is apparently located in four major regions of Canada: Western Region, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region. Currently, Labatt is part of Belgian multinational beverage and brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Circa 1989, 22-year-old Pamela Anderson was actually spotted onscreen at a BC Lions football game in Vancouver sporting a Labatt’s Beer t-shirt. According to reports, the company later hired her as a spokesperson. So, what is this “Blue Zone Girl” story?
What is the Blue Zone Girl?
Labatt’s pilsner lager, introduced around 1951, eventually became one of Canada’s best-selling beers. Known as “Blue” for the color of its label, the beer further cemented its association with the color by sponsoring sports teams like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Eventually, the company launched a marketing campaign called “Blue Zone”.
In a 1992 documentary, Anderson revealed that one of his roommates in Vancouver was a representative of the Blue Zone. Free marketing materials and Blue Zone branded clothing, quite trendy at the time, were often sported by the future celebrity and his friends in their youth. It was one of those days while wearing a Labatt’s Blue Zone t-shirt that Anderson was spotted by the cameraman at the BC Lions football game and shown onscreen.
Soon, the company was reportedly inundated with questions about the identity of the “Blue Zone Girl”. In response, Labatt hired Anderson as a spokesperson, and she did some commercials for the beer company. The famous Blue Zone Girl poster (also depicted in the series) was apparently the brainchild of her then-boyfriend, who capitalized on her fame and produced the now-memorable image.
Did Labatt discover Pamela Anderson?
Shortly after beginning to appear in Labatt commercials, Anderson received a call from Playboy magazine and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. The rest, as they say, is (Hollywood) history. So, was Labatt really responsible for discovering the iconic model?
Well, yes and no. It seems Anderson was already an aspiring model before she was hired by Labatt. So, being hired by the brewery wasn’t the first time she considered modeling (as the show seems to show, perhaps for dramatic effect). However, her wearing a Labatt Blue Zone t-shirt apparently added to Anderson’s appeal and resulted in the catchy nickname “Blue Zone Girl”. Also, from the way the events are portrayed, it appears that Labatt hired Anderson due to overwhelming public demand to see her again.
So, Labatt may have given Anderson his first “big” modeling gig and the platform to then get scouted by Playboy magazine. However, credit for discovering her modeling potential can arguably be split between the crowds who demanded to see her more and even the cameraman who spotted her at that football game in Vancouver and plastered her image on the stadium’s Jumbotron.
Read more: Who plays Jay Leno in Pam & Tommy? Did the interview happen in real life?
