When Parker stirred a martini - Vintage Advertising

In the early 70's when television advertising was unsophisticated and very much in its teenage years, the Parker Pen Company came out with one of the most discussed ads of its time. This simple ad showed a hand using a Parker Pen to write the above 'mathematical' formula on a piece of paper.

The ad generated a lot of talk among the scientific community as to what the formula would have meant. The result? Parker's letterbox was filled with queries from  chemists, mathematicians and physicists all asking for the meaning of the formula, as they could not figure it out. The creators of this ad, however had the last laugh. The formula was actually a humorous representation for the recipe of a Martini: 3.5 shots of gin and half a shot of vermouth over 4 parts H₂O³ (water cubed = ice), finished off with three stirs (the 3×360°)!!!

I have been hunting the original TV ad on the information superhighway, but that ended up in vain. 

Interesting trivia about the Parker Pen company:

• Contrary to popular belief, Parker is originally from the USA and not from UK. The company was founded in 1888 in Wisconsin by George S Parker.
• Did you know that the Hero pen that we are very familiar with is actually a Parker design. The design of the Hero pen resembles one of the American company's best selling model, the Parker 51.