Humpty Dumpty

Obscure? Maybe to some. For me though Humpty Dumpty has always been an egg I noticed on the shelves of my chip aisle. Why? Well maybe its the weird positioning... I mean why exactly is an egg selling me potato chips? Shouldn't it be a potato? And probably more importantly, something about the character always kind of frightened me, he is a talking egg after all!

Today on the Candy Aisle we'll continue our look back at a few fun mascots with another dose of chips. This time its Humpty Dumpty potato chips. These were sold across Canada, and through lots of New England over the 80s and 90s. As the name implies, their mascot was a cartoon version of Humpty Dumpty.

Here's how Humpty Dumpty looks today. Not really much changed since my earliest memories of him as a kid. Why people always insist on giving Humpty Dumpty a bow tie is below me... I mean doesn't the guy have enough problems already looking like a mad science experiment... not to mention the whole breaking into pieces thing.

And here's the product line today in Canada. A bit off the wall, and not actually hitting the potato chip market directly anymore Humpty Dumpty now sells party mixes and those weird other things you see in the chip aisle but never actually buy.

According to the wiki, while Humpty Dumpty started out as a company from Maine in the late 40s it became best known as a Canadian brand in the 90s after it was sold to a company based in Kitchner Ontario. They are mainly seen through New England and are famed to offer such off the wall flavors as sour cream and clam chips. In 2006 the company was sold again this time to Old Dutch, who at the time had a good presence in the west but not as much out east. Old Dutch decided to keep the Humpty Dumpty brand alive only relegated it to the "snack" section while Old Dutch chips took over all actual potato chip duties.

Here's a look at what I saw walking the aisle of their current product line.

 

well that'sdefinitely the kind of stuff I know I usually pass over at the store. Still I have to say theres a part of me that has a real soft spot for Humpty Dumpty. I mean the guy may look happy but hes just so down on his luck. He's happy, but we all know whats going to happen to him. And a precarious perch atop that lettering isn' the best place for him.

I'm sure the snacks are good, and I can't say I don't go in for some cheese puffs every now and again, but I'm not usually reaching for HD brand puffs. Not when there's a cheetah around.

Odd and interesting, you've got to check out these wacked out commercials for Humpty Dumpty products from back in the day. These are low-budget awesomeness!

AHH!!!! oh sorry, I just thought I saw a crazed monster appear in those people's homes and offer them chips. Oh wait I did! W-T-F!!! Seriously just WTF is this?!?! The fact that someone thought this wasn't totally tripped out just showed how crazy people were back in the late 80s and early 90s. I mean these commercials are bonkers. That Humpty Dumpty costume is absolutely terrifying!

But lets get away from the big scary monster. How about something a bit more normal?

Yup, those kids are totally normal.... right??? Like Children of the New England Corn normal! I am shocked and awed by these ads. I wish I could remember seeing any of these from my youth, but I expect they only ran in the States.

From my memory I liked Humpty Dumpty chips. They had flavors like Dill before it was popular, and they were the first chips I ever saw in "Fun Sized" at Halloween. These were also by default the chip that ended up at parties and in loot bags, and other giveaways. And I believe that even the original flavor was pretty good.

They may have changed over the years, but like I said I've still got a soft spot for good ol' Humpty Dumpty. The sad little egg that sells potato chips.

The Munchies

Today we're kicking off a look at some classic mascots. Since for some reason candy and chocolate bars don't have too many we'll also be looking at a few other tasty treats. Today we've got a Canadian classic, the Munchies.

Who are the Munchies? Well they were the long running mascots of Hostess potato chips here in Canada.  According to the wiki the chips were the #1 chips sold in Canada through the 80s, and I'd certainly believe that having lived here through the 80s, but once the 90s kicked in and upscale chips like Kettle Chips and Miss Vickis came around they couldn't compete. In '96 Hostess re-branded all of their chips as Lays here in Canada.

What got me thinking about this though was walking through my local grocery store and coming across what is apparently a limited run of Hostess branded chips. Are they testing the waters for a brand comeback? Here's a look at the chips and a glimpse of the current version of The Munchies.

Yup, those little guys are The Munchies, and boy do they get up to some shenanigans. In the commercials from the 80s they were always animated, often portrayed as celebrity superstars. Sometimes rocking out in a band. Yes they even play instruments.... I think there may have been a  little Chipmunks influence there.

Check out the rest of the current product line and you can see these crazy Munchies up to all sorts of silliness.

Are they still superstars, or just chefs? I suppose its a bit moot since they're only on the limited run, but I know I would love to see these guys come back in full force. Don't people want this kind of stuff? I think they do.

Their tagline was "When you've got the Munchies nothing else will do: Hostess Potato Chips" and you've got to see some of their commercials.

This next one is actually one of my absolute favorites.

And finally here's a last ad that is SO TOTALLY 80s you've got to love it.

As you can tell, totally awesome! I always loved seeing these little Hostess goblins (or whatever they are) on my chips and my tv. Here's hoping Pepsico makes a move to bring them back!

We'll look at another mascot next week here on the Candy Aisle so please stay tuned :)

Minor Mascots 1

There are a lot of great breakfast cereal mascots but surprisingly few candy related ones. Although considering the makeup of some of those breakfast cereals they could probably be considered candy. Regardless of that, in straight candy there are a few, just not as many as I think there should be,

Sure we all know the M&M crew, and the Nerds, but there are a few other players in the mascot arena that I thought we'd look at today. These guys are not the superstar mascots you may know, lets have a look at some of these minor mascots.

 Ok, so I suppose technically yes I have heard of Big League. But not Gumballs, Big League was always about shredded bubble gun. Amazing that it was ever sold, the gum was (and is) made to look like chewing tobacco, whihc baseball players loved back in the 70s. I've never seen Big League as a gumball before though. I think the brand has slowly faded since people probably don't even get the reference to chewing tabacco anymore. Maybe this gumball form factor is supposed to get them back in the game...

But check out that mascot. I don't know his name but he looks like what I imagine Dolph Lungren to look like when playing baseball. Speaking of which... why didn't anyone ever do that before? Dolph Lungren in a baseball movie would kill. This guy is all muscle and teeth. God look at those, they're just huge chompers. He probably east bubble gum exclusively, so has built up extra superhuman mouth muscles. And look at the shades. This guy is cool and he knows it. I mean he doesn't even take off his shades to hit the ball. Hey wait a second... is he about to hit the gumball? I just noticed that.Anyhow I love this guy. He's awesome and I want to buy whatever he's selling.

Double Bubble is even more of a classic than Big League Chew, but probably less exciting. Honestly I always thought of them as the poor mans Bazooka Joe. But its a Tootsie product that apparently comes in a variety of flavors. Here though it only comes up as original. At least the bag has 10% more to it. And for FREE no less!

So who is this cool dude on a skateboard, recklessly blowing a humungous bubble? That is Pud. At least I think its Pud. Yup... kind of a dopey name for kind of a dopey kid. I mean he's happy and all, but who could seriously blow bubbles especially huge ones like that while skateboarding. Seriously that is a health hazard. He could easily crash into something!

The one thing I'll give it is that at least this conveys something. At least I know that I'm getting some good gum for bubbles. Oh wait, I suppose "Double Bubble was a tip off there too.If you want to see a few of the Pud comics that they produced back in the day, that came with the gum, here's a link. Not super exciting stuff if you ask me though.I just think Pud is a dud.

I'll have some more Minor Mascots for you another day. Lets leave this for now. Question, would you rather buy gum from Dolph the ballplayer, or "cool kid" Pud the Dud. ? hocked by twins, and sugar crazed kids?

Personally I'd stick with Dolph, that guy is all around awesome.