Last month, Dolphy Day IPA officially hit the shelves of stores, promoting not only Le Moyne College but also Meier’s Creek Brewing Company. With this, Heights Global Marketing pushed forward the concept of Dolphy Day IPA which leads to the question: How do the founders of Dolphy Day feel about it? Luckily Chris Heffernan and Sonny Avallone, who were there at the beginning of the first Dolphy Day in 1971, could provide their opinions on this question.
When I spoke to Chris in the beginning of the release of the IPA, he was confused, never realizing Le Moyne was creating an IPA – then, after a minute, he couldn’t contain his laughter. He was baffled at why Le Moyne, a Jesuit institution, would go forth creating an IPA. For people like Heights Global Marketing and Le Moyne, this was a step in the direction toward building a brand for Le Moyne but for Chris, it was the “theater of the absurd.”
More than 50 years ago, Chris Heffernan could never have predicted in a million years that a campus holiday, which was created between friends, would not only be a tradition but the name of an IPA.
While Chris, now 71, couldn’t care less about the name being on an IPA at this point in his life, he believes the school is still missing the point. When Dolphy Day was started in 1971, the objective was simple: student rebellion against the Vietnam draft and the Kent State shooting, in which four students were killed and nine wounded by the Ohio National Guard. Instead, the holiday has been readjusted and lost its original roots long before the IPA came out.
To Chris, he believes this is a prime example of the point that “every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket,” a quote by philosopher Eric Hoffer. Sonny Avallone has a similar stance.
Sonny, an RA during the creation of Dolphy Day, also believes the concept behind this IPA was ill-informed. To him, it’s a constant reminder that Le Moyne is willing to do whatever to cover the true definition of Dolphy Day. When asked what he thought about the beer, Sonny thought it was an insane idea that an IPA was named after Dolphy Day, but personally thought that it should have been a CBD instead, to honor the original way they celebrated Dolphy Day.
When you go to the website link for the Dolphy Day IPA, you are presented with the definition which states, “An annual tradition that began at Le Moyne College in 1971 as a ‘spontaneous celebration of spring,’ Dolphy Day is a day to relax, spend time outside with friends, enjoy great music, and take a break before the end of the semester and finals.” To both Sonny and Chris, they believe that this is the first definition that is on par to the true definition of Dolphy Day but they believe what is happening now is still far away from the actual idea itself.
In response to both of the founders’ view, Sarah Cone, director of operations for Heights Global Marketing was able to respond. Initially, she said, there were second thoughts about the name being Dolphy Day, but it had nothing to do with the original definition. Heights Global worried because Dolphy Day had associations of drinking with it that didn’t align with the ideas of the new drink itself.
However, as marketing researchers, it is their job to pick what the market wants and, for them, their surveys showed support of Dolphy Day. Sarah also said that if she knew the true story behind Dolphy Day, a bigger discussion would have happened. In Dolphy Day evolving now into a brand item for Le Moyne, are we getting further from its purpose or will we ever switch back to the original times?
