When last we talked about the M&Ms the little candy coated super-stars we're headed full tilt into the new Millennium. While other companies we're floundering to maintain clean cut mascots in a world full of cynical and way too smart kids the M&Ms managed to ride a tide of good will bolstered by smart mature humor and a constantly evolving sensibility that kept them fresh. Maybe what worked so well for them was that they stopped being aimed specifically at kids. The M&M characters left their pure cartoon roots with the introduction of the mixed media CG versions of the characters, and Mars stopped even making commercials without them. They reached a mass awareness that few mascots have ever achieved and kept on pushing, to become, and stay, the biggest of mega-stars in the candy world.
To be honest, figuring out how this all went down is pretty confusing so |I'm going to assume I will be getting some of this wrong. Lets be clear: I am not a historian. This is a light fun pop survey of the modern M&M characters as seen through their advertizing. There are other places on the web, or in print if you're looking for cold hard facts. Like Yellow, we're just here to have a good time :)
So as we got into the early 00s foreign markets expanded, the brand grew, and ads specifically targeted at non-western markets began to hit. This change alone makes sifting the chaff on the internet pretty complicated especially since some of the campaigns and ads were used in different countries at different times, or under different circumstances. Anyhow, suffice it to say the opening of foreign markets and ad campaigns, makes it extremely messy.
Lets take a step back though and have a look at some ads. As the century ended, the M&Ms were interacting with celebs in new mixed media adverts, and establishing the core dynamic of the Red Yellow relationship that we all know and love.
The candies declaring themselves the Spokescandies of the new Millennium at end of '97, and I missed one ad they featured in one that I had to share. I love this one, and wanted to make sure I posted it.
Its great to see Dick Clark still young (youngish) and its nice that he was comfortable making fun of his age.
With the launch of Crispy M&Ms in '99 there were more than a few ads featuring the new character and flavor.
Oh Puddy. You always entertain me :D
And Red, you're always pulling fast ones...
As I said Red and Yellow especially we're developing the classic Laurel
and Hardy playing off each other riffs, and the public loved it. Here
are a few other turn of the century ads that feature the M&Ms just
being their own funny selves.
That is a little disturbing. funny but disturbing. This next one just features Red, but its pretty cute.
And finally here's an ad from '99 that I think shows where all the ads were headed in the early '00s.
This is a really great one. The airport ad is awesome because it showcases Red and Yellow doing their thing. It's got them bickering lovingly, being funny interacting with our world. They even break the fourth wall directly, they acknowledge that they are in fact candy, and it all wraps up with a solid tag at the end. This is the shape of the ads to come.
Getting into the 2000s for real-sies now they launched a fun campaign at the start of the year.
This is great on a number of levels, but I think the most important thing to note is the solo color offering. This is one of the first time solo colors were offered for a promotion. AND this wasn't a promotion tied into a holiday like Easter or Xmas where they gave us specially colored (or flavored) editions of the candy. This was just for the heck of it.
Another fun thing came up in the year 2000. And the next very serious ad addresses it perfectly.
That's right. Plain has changed, and in 2000 M&Ms re-branded their classic candy as Milk Chocolate. Such an obvious thing, but remember back when M&Ms started it was really a different world.
One more cute one on this, because I as I've mentioned before I smile for Patrick Warburton and always want him to succeed.
2000 also saw the release of two new M&M video games: The Lost Formula and Mini Madness.
In 2001 M&Ms started a long and strange journey trying out a lot of weird and sometimes very interesting flavors. For this outing they tried their hand at Dulce de Leche in some 5 Hispanic countries. Although it was a valiant attempt and actually sounds pretty good there wasn't much interest apparently and the product line was discontinued by '03.
In 2002 the ads continued, only got a bit more sophisticated. The Laurel and Hardy routine that Red and Yellow we're perfecting still had to be tempered. As much as I like the Airport commercial above its also VERY 90s. Here's the kind of standard ad that typified the early 2000s. Even though it only has Red you can see that it shows a literal and quirky take on the candy. More importantly it's just plain funny.
Love that Bradley Whitford (and this ad is during the height of his run on The West Wing).
2002 also saw the return and update of a previous successful ad campaign. The Global Color Vote was essentially the same trick they'd pulled in '95 but this time it was between Pink, Purple, or Aqua as the new color.
Here's a French ad featuring some cheerleaders?!
After Purple won the contest, it became an M&M color for a limited time. I'm not sure why they didn't keep it around or give us a new mascot like they did when Blue made the scene but they did feature a nifty contest looking for the bag full of Purple M&Ms to win a prize.
In 2004 the M&Ms launched another cool color campaign, only this one was all about the missing color! The hunt was on to find Grey M&Ms this time and it all started with this funny ad.
Here's one that maybe explains it a bit better.
And I always loved this bloodhound one though. Great stuff.
One of the interesting things about M&Ms getting so popular in the 2000s is that they started doing huge tie in marketing promotions. M&Ms had a number of movie tie ins over the years 2004 saw the start of the cross media tie ins, And not just with The Wizard of Oz. No instead I mean this beauty below inspired by the Addams Family to promote another limited run on Dark Chocolate M&Ms.
That's not all from '04 though. M&Ms also got big, and I don't mean regular big, I mean OGRE sized!
I actually think this tie in with Shrek 2 is a great one. M&Ms and Shrek are a really perfectly paired brand. But since M&Ms were in the midst of experiments in size and shape 2004 saw the first appearance of the most radical change yet, the M-Azing chocolate bar!
It sounds like the M-Azing bar was only moderately successful. The bar apparently stuck around in some form or another straight through until today and was finally re-branded and re-launched in 2013 as the new M&M chocolate bar. A bit more on that in the next post.
Aside from featuring in the new M-Azing bar, the M&M Minis we're also going strong in '04. I posted a few ads from this era of the Minis in my last blog post on this subject but here is another one to show you where the Mini advertizing was at the time.
At first I thought it seemed like a very 90s ad but then I realized that the M&M minis were being targeted at kids, while regular M&Ms were targeted at everyone.
Speaking of mass marketing the following year M&Ms teamed up with another film franchise that had probably the biggest mass market appeal possible. Watch the ad below to see the M&Ms join the Dark Side...
Watching this I have to wonder why Mars never just out and out put out a Dark Chocolate M&M on a permanent basis. I know they've got a few specialties at all times these days, but its weird that they kept bringing it back as a limited run.
2005 also saw the launch of Mega M&Ms. I'm guessing that the Ogre sized M&Ms went over so well that they decided to continue the line.
I know that ad didn't have the M&M characters in it but its pretty funny..
If the Chocolate M-Pire tie in wasn't the breaking point then it had to be the M&M tie ins for '06. These guys weren't just well known spokes-candies, they were true celebrities unto themselves. In 2006 Red and Yellow made a mark adjacent to Joan Rivers at the Academy Awards pre-show. To me this is huge.
Think about the number of eyeballs on that broadcast. Think about the fact that there are people who care about this from really all over the world. Its pretty serious stuff. I mean as serious as you can get for entertainers who aren't actually stars on the big screen.
They may be super-commercialized.... but can you blame them? I mean they are commercial characters. 2006 also saw ties ins for Pirates 3, and Shrek 3.
Pirates 3 in saw the launch of limited time white chocolate M&Ms,
and Shrek the Third saw the return of Ogre sized M&Ms again, as well
as this vacation contest.
I'm going to jump ahead a bit now, in 2008 M&Ms finally hit on a weird urban myth for their gain. At Valentines they launched a limited run of all green M&Ms. Green you ask? yes. I'm not sure how well known the rumor is now, but I totally remember as a kid hearing that green M&Ms we're for sexy time...
These also came at Christmas time that year. As good a time as any for an aphrodisiac (weather its true or not).
The summer of 2008 saw another side product launched from M&Ms. The M&M ice cream bar.
Its true...
That's pretty funny :)
New limited time flavors also emerged in 2008. Wild Cherry hit the scene alongside Mint Crisp M&Ms as a promotion tied into Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
The biggest promotion of 2008 though came with the launch of mymms.com. Now there was finally a chance to change things up, and get your face, or whatever you wanted printed onto your M&Ms. Very exciting stuff.
After this commercial Mars took a different tack making a bunch of pretty funny commercials letting regular people become an M&M.
That ones probably my favorite, but there are some other great ones.
ha, contacts...
Gross but funny.
ha, earholes...
Good stuff all around.
Before I finally wrap this very long blog post up I'll mention one more
2008 M&Ms item. The launch of Premiums. Ms Green finally got something all her own here and it turned out quite well.
5 flavors of premiums were launched. I know I ate a few of them. They had a 'high end' vibe to them and I suppose they were pretty decadent.
Of course we know that Mint has been around since this time in on again off again limited runs, but this is where I first had it. A few more of the flavors were Rasberry Almond, which is actually a current limited run flavor, and Triple Chocolate. Both sound great to me.
I've had these and they do taste great.
mmm... so delicious sounding.
When we come back to this topic, I'll pick up from 2008 and we can watch some more ads together. These crazy M&Ms just became superstars right under your noses... pretty impressive. Thanks all, later :)
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
M&Ms ads - the 90s
A few weeks ago I posted a long and involved post talking about some of the evolution of M&M advertising on television. I encourage you to go read that post first. It was really fun writing the post since I got to parse through a ton of my favorite old M&M ads. Today I thought I'd follow up with the next part of the story and have a look at the more modern M&M ads of the 90s.
M&Ms themselves are really fascinating, and the ads have gone through a lot of changes over the years. But the 90s are characterized by some really dense advertizing. The M&Ms were becoming legitimate stars in their own right, and the advertizing and products went in a number of interesting directions. When last we left off the year was 1992 and M&M had just celebrated their 50th anniversary, and introduced both Peanut Butter and Almond varieties. And just to note the ads I'm really talking about here are all centered around the M&Ms characters, not the commercials with just humans :)
As I said, M&Ms were so popular now that they really seem to have had multiple ad campaigns running concurrently. In some cases you could still find old 80s style M&M commercials featuring M&Ms in pure cartoon settings.
But M&Ms also in the late 80s into the early 90s created a lot of commercials without their mascots entirely. I'm not sure if these were meant to appeal more to adults since they obviously at some point realized the true value of the mascots and basically stopped doing commercials without them, but its interesting nonetheless.
Additionally they made the big transition around this era. It was becoming more and more common to see the M&Ms interacting with real humans. And often not just any humans but celebrities.
That's Daisy Fuentes, model and MTV VJ.
And the incomparable Robert Pastorelli of Murphy Brown fame.
Also since I forgot to mention it earlier M&Ms started featuring Christmas and Easter seasonal bags in 1986. They had pastel colored seasonal M&Ms for Easter-time, and red and green for Xmas.
And...
Here's my absolute favorite Christmas one :)
Probably the next big innovation to M&Ms came in 1995 when they ran a campaign to vote on the next new color of M&M to be introduced.
The vote was actually to replace the tan colored M&Ms which were being discontinued. As you can see from the funny ads below featuring Wings star Steven Weber and the M&Ms the winner was a new favorite of mine, Blue.
And here's another funny one.
Interesting as far as I can tell Blue was not as of yet associated with a specific flavor, unless it was Almond. Its hard to determine exactly when that happened.Currently all of the different M&M colors are associated with certain flavors, but I don't think that was always the case.
Moving on though, in 1996 M&Ms decided to branch out again, this time with M&M minis.
These little guys have been giving Red and yellow a hard time ever since.Its funny, the Minis are kind of like a cross between a swarm of kiler bees and a crazed Looney Tunes character.
Here's a great example of the kind of pranks the Minis pull.
And I know this is skipping ahead a bit but I love these Mini commercials from the early 2000s as well and they fit into this same category :)
Yeah, of course Red rides the bus.
I LOVE this one. Talk about Looney Tunes!
And of course this is a great example of Red and Yellow just getting tossed around. Pretty typical stuff for the era.
Now it gets a bit tricky around this part but by the late 90s both Ms Green and Orange had also been established as M&M personalities. Unlike Blue these were soft and ongoing changes to character since both colors had been around for quite a while.
Starting with Green, lets have a look at some of her early appearances. She is of course the first woman M&M and they really played up the sexy angle. I mean A LOT.
She's also always had a real air of celebrity to her.
Was that inappropriate? I'm honestly not sure how to take it. Now I know this one is from much more recently, but how about this...
And then of course there's this one final one, my personal favorite.
Now that's pretty funny.
When Green was introduced she was associated loosely with Dark Chocolate, but now she reps for Peanut Butter, Mint, and Coconut. Although with that I have to wonder why Orange isn't on Peanut Butter anymore?
Orange on the other hand is the neurotic part of the M&M gang. He got a personality pretty early on but it wasn't until the introduction of Crispy M&Ms in 1999 that he found a calling and got his own full ad campaign. Here's a great ad with Orange and Halle Berry.
Love it. This guys always cracked me up and I wish they would've found more for him to do in those early days. While I liked Crispy M&Ms (they were discontinued Stateside in 2005) after the initial burst there wasn't much advertizing support for them. And so it wasn't until Pretzel M&Ms came along much later that Orange got a chance to shine again. For now though lets look at a few more ads featuring Orange from the late 90s.
Talk about neurotic.
That's another really fun one. And finally lets have one with your friend and mine Patrick Warburton.
Oh Puddy...
As the M&Ms launched into the 2000s they were of course the official spokescandy of the Millenium. And yes they may have been a bit early on it...
And what do the M&Ms get paid anyhow?
Oh Red and Yellow... you really can't help but love these guys. By this point they've fully developed the Laurel and Hardy routine and are just riffing some great jokes.
And once the M&Ms got into the new Millennium properly things got even bigger for them. While other companies like MacDonalds the cereal companies had tougher and tougher times selling the public on their cutesy characters, M&Ms simply didn't. Their focus on fun, and funny irreverant evolving humor made them stand out and become even bigger stars that any reasonable person would've thought possible. These guys are up there with the biggest spokespeople in the world, and its great to see how they continue to work in a modern setting.
Next time we'll delve into the M&Ms megastardom of the 2000s. Until then, lets not forget how great the candy actually is. Great candy and some stellar advertizing. Its certainly a winning combination.
M&Ms themselves are really fascinating, and the ads have gone through a lot of changes over the years. But the 90s are characterized by some really dense advertizing. The M&Ms were becoming legitimate stars in their own right, and the advertizing and products went in a number of interesting directions. When last we left off the year was 1992 and M&M had just celebrated their 50th anniversary, and introduced both Peanut Butter and Almond varieties. And just to note the ads I'm really talking about here are all centered around the M&Ms characters, not the commercials with just humans :)
As I said, M&Ms were so popular now that they really seem to have had multiple ad campaigns running concurrently. In some cases you could still find old 80s style M&M commercials featuring M&Ms in pure cartoon settings.
But M&Ms also in the late 80s into the early 90s created a lot of commercials without their mascots entirely. I'm not sure if these were meant to appeal more to adults since they obviously at some point realized the true value of the mascots and basically stopped doing commercials without them, but its interesting nonetheless.
Additionally they made the big transition around this era. It was becoming more and more common to see the M&Ms interacting with real humans. And often not just any humans but celebrities.
That's Daisy Fuentes, model and MTV VJ.
And the incomparable Robert Pastorelli of Murphy Brown fame.
Also since I forgot to mention it earlier M&Ms started featuring Christmas and Easter seasonal bags in 1986. They had pastel colored seasonal M&Ms for Easter-time, and red and green for Xmas.
And...
Here's my absolute favorite Christmas one :)
Probably the next big innovation to M&Ms came in 1995 when they ran a campaign to vote on the next new color of M&M to be introduced.
The vote was actually to replace the tan colored M&Ms which were being discontinued. As you can see from the funny ads below featuring Wings star Steven Weber and the M&Ms the winner was a new favorite of mine, Blue.
And here's another funny one.
Interesting as far as I can tell Blue was not as of yet associated with a specific flavor, unless it was Almond. Its hard to determine exactly when that happened.Currently all of the different M&M colors are associated with certain flavors, but I don't think that was always the case.
Moving on though, in 1996 M&Ms decided to branch out again, this time with M&M minis.
These little guys have been giving Red and yellow a hard time ever since.Its funny, the Minis are kind of like a cross between a swarm of kiler bees and a crazed Looney Tunes character.
Here's a great example of the kind of pranks the Minis pull.
And I know this is skipping ahead a bit but I love these Mini commercials from the early 2000s as well and they fit into this same category :)
Yeah, of course Red rides the bus.
I LOVE this one. Talk about Looney Tunes!
And of course this is a great example of Red and Yellow just getting tossed around. Pretty typical stuff for the era.
Now it gets a bit tricky around this part but by the late 90s both Ms Green and Orange had also been established as M&M personalities. Unlike Blue these were soft and ongoing changes to character since both colors had been around for quite a while.
Starting with Green, lets have a look at some of her early appearances. She is of course the first woman M&M and they really played up the sexy angle. I mean A LOT.
She's also always had a real air of celebrity to her.
Was that inappropriate? I'm honestly not sure how to take it. Now I know this one is from much more recently, but how about this...
And then of course there's this one final one, my personal favorite.
Now that's pretty funny.
When Green was introduced she was associated loosely with Dark Chocolate, but now she reps for Peanut Butter, Mint, and Coconut. Although with that I have to wonder why Orange isn't on Peanut Butter anymore?
Orange on the other hand is the neurotic part of the M&M gang. He got a personality pretty early on but it wasn't until the introduction of Crispy M&Ms in 1999 that he found a calling and got his own full ad campaign. Here's a great ad with Orange and Halle Berry.
Love it. This guys always cracked me up and I wish they would've found more for him to do in those early days. While I liked Crispy M&Ms (they were discontinued Stateside in 2005) after the initial burst there wasn't much advertizing support for them. And so it wasn't until Pretzel M&Ms came along much later that Orange got a chance to shine again. For now though lets look at a few more ads featuring Orange from the late 90s.
Talk about neurotic.
That's another really fun one. And finally lets have one with your friend and mine Patrick Warburton.
Oh Puddy...
As the M&Ms launched into the 2000s they were of course the official spokescandy of the Millenium. And yes they may have been a bit early on it...
And what do the M&Ms get paid anyhow?
Oh Red and Yellow... you really can't help but love these guys. By this point they've fully developed the Laurel and Hardy routine and are just riffing some great jokes.
And once the M&Ms got into the new Millennium properly things got even bigger for them. While other companies like MacDonalds the cereal companies had tougher and tougher times selling the public on their cutesy characters, M&Ms simply didn't. Their focus on fun, and funny irreverant evolving humor made them stand out and become even bigger stars that any reasonable person would've thought possible. These guys are up there with the biggest spokespeople in the world, and its great to see how they continue to work in a modern setting.
Next time we'll delve into the M&Ms megastardom of the 2000s. Until then, lets not forget how great the candy actually is. Great candy and some stellar advertizing. Its certainly a winning combination.
Monday, May 6, 2013
M&Ms ads - early years
A few weeks ago I posted some thoughts on those little candy mascots the M&Ms. When it comes to candy mascots there is literally none bigger. They showed up in the 50s and 60s but it wasn't until the 80s when advertizing went crazy that the M&M characters themselves started really taking over the entirety of the marketing. Still most of the ads you'll find for M&Ms are from the mid 80S onward. Of course, its not like there were VCRs around before the late 80s so that might be a factor too!
Regardless I thought I'd share some of my favorite M&M commercials with you here. This is by no means a complete list. And I'm not claiming to be any expert on M&Ms or the M&M characters. Like most of you out there I just really love the ads.
Here's a very early 50s ad for M&Ms
From Plain to Peanut. I love it. Swimming in chocolate and zipping up their "sugar" shells. This is the start of something awesome.
In these next two M&M commercials from the 70s they really play up the messiness angle.
Especially in that fist ad I have to say the chocolate mess is pretty gross. While I love the tag line of Melts in your Mouth and Not in Your Hand, I have to say I'm glad they abandoned this angle of marketing. Its not so pleasant to watch.
Jumping ahead again, in 1984 M&Ms became the official candy of the Olympic games (held in LA that year). This is the first time I can find that you really see the M&Ms as a group. A fun loving, partying group.
Doesn't it make sense to see them all together like that? I mean you get a whole bag full. And it works well for the Olympics.
And then in mid 80s M&Ms got a bigger sized bag. Here are some fun ads for that :)
What I really like about these ads is this they really further develops the M&Ms as a community. They're much more cartoony, and they start to give the M&Ms themselves more of a story.
This next one was a favorite of mine as a kid.
I think this ad is really awesome, no only because the M&Ms all go on vacation with each other, but that they're such a rowdy fun group. I know they don't have their individual personalities developed much at this point, but there's something kind of awesome about having like 30 M&Ms in a big crazy group partying rather than just Red and Yellow on their own. This is what M&Ms were about back then, a family (or at least a fraternity) of candy. Shouldn't M&Ms be a fun loving party all the time?.
Here's another funny one from 1988. I love the way the process is imagined here. That they actually have to go swimming in chocolate and then shower in a candy shell is genius. This is also a good example of some developing personality for Peanut. Such a goofball :)
Tell me that's not a party! And very cutting edge stuff with that computer.
One of the things I always loved about these old M&M commercials that has been lost over the years is that these commercials were so wholesome. They were really family friendly. Now I think people expect different things from their advertising, but I'm nostalgic for these old comfortable ads.
In 1990 M&Ms celebrated their 50th Birthday. a long time for any candy to be around, and Its cool to see the M&M mascots right front and center for the party.
Then finally a breakthrough for M&Ms came in the early 90s. The introduction of M&Ms Peanut Butter!
And while they'd had limited runs in before this 1992 also saw the permanent introduction of M&Ms Almond.
Finally, we'll end today's look at some old M&M ads with this one where the M&Ms themselves get nostalgic. I like the fact that they can reference their own history. It kind of brings the whole advertising campaign full circle.
Talk about some enduring mascots, these guys have been though A LOT.
Next time we'll look at M&M ads in the 90s, through the refinement of their personalities and into the new millennium!
Regardless I thought I'd share some of my favorite M&M commercials with you here. This is by no means a complete list. And I'm not claiming to be any expert on M&Ms or the M&M characters. Like most of you out there I just really love the ads.
Here's a very early 50s ad for M&Ms
From Plain to Peanut. I love it. Swimming in chocolate and zipping up their "sugar" shells. This is the start of something awesome.
In these next two M&M commercials from the 70s they really play up the messiness angle.
Especially in that fist ad I have to say the chocolate mess is pretty gross. While I love the tag line of Melts in your Mouth and Not in Your Hand, I have to say I'm glad they abandoned this angle of marketing. Its not so pleasant to watch.
Jumping ahead again, in 1984 M&Ms became the official candy of the Olympic games (held in LA that year). This is the first time I can find that you really see the M&Ms as a group. A fun loving, partying group.
Doesn't it make sense to see them all together like that? I mean you get a whole bag full. And it works well for the Olympics.
And then in mid 80s M&Ms got a bigger sized bag. Here are some fun ads for that :)
What I really like about these ads is this they really further develops the M&Ms as a community. They're much more cartoony, and they start to give the M&Ms themselves more of a story.
This next one was a favorite of mine as a kid.
Here's another funny one from 1988. I love the way the process is imagined here. That they actually have to go swimming in chocolate and then shower in a candy shell is genius. This is also a good example of some developing personality for Peanut. Such a goofball :)
Tell me that's not a party! And very cutting edge stuff with that computer.
One of the things I always loved about these old M&M commercials that has been lost over the years is that these commercials were so wholesome. They were really family friendly. Now I think people expect different things from their advertising, but I'm nostalgic for these old comfortable ads.
In 1990 M&Ms celebrated their 50th Birthday. a long time for any candy to be around, and Its cool to see the M&M mascots right front and center for the party.
Then finally a breakthrough for M&Ms came in the early 90s. The introduction of M&Ms Peanut Butter!
And while they'd had limited runs in before this 1992 also saw the permanent introduction of M&Ms Almond.
Finally, we'll end today's look at some old M&M ads with this one where the M&Ms themselves get nostalgic. I like the fact that they can reference their own history. It kind of brings the whole advertising campaign full circle.
Talk about some enduring mascots, these guys have been though A LOT.
Next time we'll look at M&M ads in the 90s, through the refinement of their personalities and into the new millennium!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Chester Cheetah
It ain't easy bein' Cheesy....
Ain't that the truth! Today we're looking at the coolest mascot to grace the chip aisle, Chester Cheetah. Because information on the internet is totally apocryphal there are multiple origin stories for Chester's inception, but weather he came from an ingenious ad agency, or the mind of Hawley Pratt (creator of the Pink Panther) he has been entertaining us in Cheetos ads since the 80s.
Chester is the epitome of cool. Sure he's cheesy, and honestly silly sometimes, but man is he also totally suave when he wants to be. I mean he's a cheetah in sneakers and sunglasses who just grooves along to his own beat all the time. How can you not love that?!
Don't know what Cheetos are? well they're puffed corn snacks flavored with powdered cheese of course. They are totally addictive, and a good change up from chips. Here's a classic Chester ad.
Get the picture now? So the gag with Chester is that yes he's a super cool dude, but he's also a bit crazy when it comes to Cheetos. Kind of in the way Sonny went Cuckoo over Coco Puffs, or the Trix Rabbit always lost it when he was about to eat some Trix cereal. Over the years he's varied in levels of silliness, but despite being portrayed as a bit of a buffoon sometimes, I think most people agree that this cat is pretty darn cool.
Lets look at the snack for a second though.
There have been a lot of different versions of Cheetos themselves over the years. And some of them are only available regionally. I know I was pretty disappointed when after recently moving from the States to Canada I realized that they don't seem to have either Flamin Hot Cheetos, or Honey BBQ Cheetos here :( This is the current lineup of Cheetos products that I can find easily in Canada.
Cheetos Puffs are the classic puffed corn snack you know and love. I expect these were the original Cheetos variety since I know I had these around since I was a really little kid. They are airy and light, and get cheese powder all over your fingers but man are they good.
If you want a bit more heft though. Cheetos Crunchy are the best of the best. Not as classic as the Puffs but honestly they are fantastic, and I personally prefer them to the Puffs. These things are insanely addictive too and if you haven't had them in a while I definitely recommend you go get some immediately!
Both the Puffs and the Crunchy varieties are the standards that you'll see everywhere. While there are and have been a number of other varieties over the years, here's what else I'm seeing currently on Canadian shelves.
For the health conscious out there (I suppose..) they've got Baked Cheetos Crunchy. Now I've never had these before, but I expect they're alright. What I don't understand though is that if you're actually caring about whether its baked or fried you probably should just stop eating them... right?
And Finally they've got this interesting variety that I wasn't familiar with before.
Cheese flavored popcorn is really a solid idea. I know I've always enjoyed it when I've had it before but I wasn't aware that there was a Cheetos variety out there. This is one I'd like to check out.
Back to Chester specifically though, the guy is always up to something. Even on the packaging I've shown you he's a pretty outlandish cartoon. I'm not sure exactly what flying a plane has to do with Cheese Puffs, but I don';t care: I'm going with it.
When they did a little revamping of Chester in the 90s they decided to start bringing him into the real world with some effects that honestly work very well. Kinda Space Jam-esque.
Chester had a few more great adventures through the 90s as his popularity grew. And this is where they dropped a lot of the bumbling Chester in favor of a simpler and cooler Chester.
You can see that he's a celebrity by '99 with the Daffy commercial.
From here into the 2000s Chester became even more interesting, because while they still advertized to kids, with things like this OrangeUnderground campaign, they also started making ads that appealed to adults.
The ads for adults started in the mid '00s and are more about skewing the status quo, bucking the system, and the little guy taking a small step to make their world a bit more bearable. Its a very 00s sort of mentality. Very Fight Club. And Chester has taken on the role of the devil on your shoulder, encouraging, and nudging. Its very subversive and I have to say I love it.
Here's a classic ad that at least for me was the first time I was exposed to the beautiful Felicia Day.
A few other examples of this new and improved Chester Cheetah:
I have to say, this guy is pretty awesome. Sure a part of me wishes he still had a bit more of the fun loving 90s silliness, but I also like how much Chester is all about messing with the system. I mean who doesn't relate to this stuff?
I know I skipped over his terrible video game and a few other little things, but that's ok. If you weren't familiar with Chester Cheetah before I sure hope you are now. The guy is legendary, and the snacks are great. I'm excited to see where Chester goes next.
Chester Cheetah is of course a mascot for Frito-Lay Cheetos. For more on all things Cheetos and Chester you can visit them online http://www.cheetos.com/
Ain't that the truth! Today we're looking at the coolest mascot to grace the chip aisle, Chester Cheetah. Because information on the internet is totally apocryphal there are multiple origin stories for Chester's inception, but weather he came from an ingenious ad agency, or the mind of Hawley Pratt (creator of the Pink Panther) he has been entertaining us in Cheetos ads since the 80s.
Chester is the epitome of cool. Sure he's cheesy, and honestly silly sometimes, but man is he also totally suave when he wants to be. I mean he's a cheetah in sneakers and sunglasses who just grooves along to his own beat all the time. How can you not love that?!
Don't know what Cheetos are? well they're puffed corn snacks flavored with powdered cheese of course. They are totally addictive, and a good change up from chips. Here's a classic Chester ad.
Get the picture now? So the gag with Chester is that yes he's a super cool dude, but he's also a bit crazy when it comes to Cheetos. Kind of in the way Sonny went Cuckoo over Coco Puffs, or the Trix Rabbit always lost it when he was about to eat some Trix cereal. Over the years he's varied in levels of silliness, but despite being portrayed as a bit of a buffoon sometimes, I think most people agree that this cat is pretty darn cool.
Lets look at the snack for a second though.
There have been a lot of different versions of Cheetos themselves over the years. And some of them are only available regionally. I know I was pretty disappointed when after recently moving from the States to Canada I realized that they don't seem to have either Flamin Hot Cheetos, or Honey BBQ Cheetos here :( This is the current lineup of Cheetos products that I can find easily in Canada.
If you want a bit more heft though. Cheetos Crunchy are the best of the best. Not as classic as the Puffs but honestly they are fantastic, and I personally prefer them to the Puffs. These things are insanely addictive too and if you haven't had them in a while I definitely recommend you go get some immediately!
Both the Puffs and the Crunchy varieties are the standards that you'll see everywhere. While there are and have been a number of other varieties over the years, here's what else I'm seeing currently on Canadian shelves.
For the health conscious out there (I suppose..) they've got Baked Cheetos Crunchy. Now I've never had these before, but I expect they're alright. What I don't understand though is that if you're actually caring about whether its baked or fried you probably should just stop eating them... right?
And Finally they've got this interesting variety that I wasn't familiar with before.
When they did a little revamping of Chester in the 90s they decided to start bringing him into the real world with some effects that honestly work very well. Kinda Space Jam-esque.
Chester had a few more great adventures through the 90s as his popularity grew. And this is where they dropped a lot of the bumbling Chester in favor of a simpler and cooler Chester.
You can see that he's a celebrity by '99 with the Daffy commercial.
From here into the 2000s Chester became even more interesting, because while they still advertized to kids, with things like this OrangeUnderground campaign, they also started making ads that appealed to adults.
The ads for adults started in the mid '00s and are more about skewing the status quo, bucking the system, and the little guy taking a small step to make their world a bit more bearable. Its a very 00s sort of mentality. Very Fight Club. And Chester has taken on the role of the devil on your shoulder, encouraging, and nudging. Its very subversive and I have to say I love it.
Here's a classic ad that at least for me was the first time I was exposed to the beautiful Felicia Day.
A few other examples of this new and improved Chester Cheetah:
I have to say, this guy is pretty awesome. Sure a part of me wishes he still had a bit more of the fun loving 90s silliness, but I also like how much Chester is all about messing with the system. I mean who doesn't relate to this stuff?
I know I skipped over his terrible video game and a few other little things, but that's ok. If you weren't familiar with Chester Cheetah before I sure hope you are now. The guy is legendary, and the snacks are great. I'm excited to see where Chester goes next.
Chester Cheetah is of course a mascot for Frito-Lay Cheetos. For more on all things Cheetos and Chester you can visit them online http://www.cheetos.com/
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Some Super Ads
With the Superbowl airing this past weekend there are always a few fun candy ads to check out. Although I know it seems like car and cola companies spend the most on advertising dollars, pretty much any ad that airs alongside the Superbowl is worth checking out. I mean, if you like advertising :)
Here are a few of the more snack oriented ads to air this Sunday.
Of course M&Ms had a spot. They usually opt for something, even going so far as to debut their Brown M&M mascot at the Superbowl 2 years ago.I like this ad overall. Its pretty funny. Maybe not as funny as some from years past, but its definitely cute.
Doritos always goes big, and this year they had a contest over at https://www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA where if I understand it correctly, people submitted their own homemade ads for a chance at fame, fortune, and an opportunity to work with Michale Bay on... something (ok, so I'm not totally versed in all the details, but here are the two top ads from that contest.
That's pretty fun stuff, although Doritos ads all wear on me after a while... its like drinking too much Mountain Dew or something. It just all blends together somehow into an "extreme" sensory overload.
Pepsi, Coke, and a company called Sodastream all had good showings on the beverage front. But that was to be expected.
One of the most unexpected winners of Sunday nights ad war was actually Oreo though. Yes they had a commercial, check:
More significantly though they had a party to watch the ad air, with both the marketing team behind the ad, and Oreo executives in attendance. Apparently during the 30 minute power outage the Oreo Twitter team took action and hastily came up with this fun ad. They became a trending topic on twitter and scored a great win for cookie fans everywhere. Check out their ad by clicking here. Yes you can still dunk in the dark!
Overall I'd say the ads we're not as great in years past, but I still enjoyed them. Let me know fi you had a favorite, or if you prefer to just to ignore all the hullabaloo. If you want to see more, here's a link to a YT page of all the ads. Enjoy.
Here are a few of the more snack oriented ads to air this Sunday.
Of course M&Ms had a spot. They usually opt for something, even going so far as to debut their Brown M&M mascot at the Superbowl 2 years ago.I like this ad overall. Its pretty funny. Maybe not as funny as some from years past, but its definitely cute.
Doritos always goes big, and this year they had a contest over at https://www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA where if I understand it correctly, people submitted their own homemade ads for a chance at fame, fortune, and an opportunity to work with Michale Bay on... something (ok, so I'm not totally versed in all the details, but here are the two top ads from that contest.
That's pretty fun stuff, although Doritos ads all wear on me after a while... its like drinking too much Mountain Dew or something. It just all blends together somehow into an "extreme" sensory overload.
Pepsi, Coke, and a company called Sodastream all had good showings on the beverage front. But that was to be expected.
One of the most unexpected winners of Sunday nights ad war was actually Oreo though. Yes they had a commercial, check:
More significantly though they had a party to watch the ad air, with both the marketing team behind the ad, and Oreo executives in attendance. Apparently during the 30 minute power outage the Oreo Twitter team took action and hastily came up with this fun ad. They became a trending topic on twitter and scored a great win for cookie fans everywhere. Check out their ad by clicking here. Yes you can still dunk in the dark!
Overall I'd say the ads we're not as great in years past, but I still enjoyed them. Let me know fi you had a favorite, or if you prefer to just to ignore all the hullabaloo. If you want to see more, here's a link to a YT page of all the ads. Enjoy.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
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 :)
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 :)
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Old Ads Round 2 Wrap
I hope you've enjoyed the look we've been taking back at some of the awesome advertisements of yesteryear here on the blog over the past few weeks. What with the holidays and double review schedule some of these posts definitely might have been lost in the mire, so for those fans who missed it I just wanted to make sure I gave you a link through to all of the pieces from this second round edition of Old Ads.
Here are the posts we covered:
Old Ads Gum
Old Ads Candy
Old Ads Cereal
Old Ads Tie Ins
And if you missed it here is a link through to the Old Ads round 1 wrap up post linking to all of those ads. OR for those of you more adventurous, please go and check out the Facebook page for WTCA, there is a photo album just for this very topic featuring all of the old ads seen on this site and one or two more to bot! I think the Facebook page may in fact be the best way to view these ads sicne the descriptive text is in the convenient sidebar beside the embiggened photo. And hey, while you're there why not Like the Candy Aisle. Every Like counts.
The next round of Old Ads will probably be a few commercials I love, so lets keep our eye open for that. Until then please keep enjoying the blog :)
Here are the posts we covered:
Old Ads Gum
Old Ads Candy
Old Ads Cereal
Old Ads Tie Ins
And if you missed it here is a link through to the Old Ads round 1 wrap up post linking to all of those ads. OR for those of you more adventurous, please go and check out the Facebook page for WTCA, there is a photo album just for this very topic featuring all of the old ads seen on this site and one or two more to bot! I think the Facebook page may in fact be the best way to view these ads sicne the descriptive text is in the convenient sidebar beside the embiggened photo. And hey, while you're there why not Like the Candy Aisle. Every Like counts.
The next round of Old Ads will probably be a few commercials I love, so lets keep our eye open for that. Until then please keep enjoying the blog :)
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Old Ads Tie Ins
Another day, another check in with our ongoing series on old ads. Today its the rare tie in candy spot. I always love it when Spider-man or Hulk is hawking bubble gum,. Somehow it just fits :) Check these gems out.
Wait a second... that's not my typical issue of What If... Something is up here :) Yes its that delicious pre-cursor to Poppycock, the beloved Crunch 'n Munch. Wow does this bring me back. Crunch 'n Munch is awesome. Whatever happened to it?! Almost like an offshoot of Cracker Jack I know I always loved it, but I guess it just couldn't survive, despite the pairing with Marvel on some awesome exclusive trading cards. I am definitely the target market for this ad. Love the candy, love the cards, love the comics, and the presentation of the ad as an issue of What If... is just classic.
From the looks of eBay you can find these sets of cards now (they apparently had a few different runs of cards), and they'll cost you anywhere between $20 and $65 for a full set.
Next up we've got two of my favorite superheroes together at last. Spider-man and the Kool-Aid man, Oh Yeah! I believe this is an ad specifically for the launching of the Wacky Warehouse program in Canada. Pretty sweet. I like how Spidey is joining Kool-Aid on his trademark wall breakage... seems slightly out of character for him, but I still enjoy it. Also I like the noting of New Rock-a-dile Red. That's a classic :)
Finally a Grrrrreeeeat! team up with Spider-man and Tony the Tiger. How could that not be awesome! These guys are awesome, and with a free comic book on the line this is something I'd definitely be down to read. Not sure how much good it'll do promoting the whole "drug free" messaging, but who cares. Spidey and Tony... These guys could kick some serious butt together!
These ads are from X-Men Adventures #9, and the Amazing Spider-Man limited series Canadian PSA issues #3 and #4 respectively.
Wait a second... that's not my typical issue of What If... Something is up here :) Yes its that delicious pre-cursor to Poppycock, the beloved Crunch 'n Munch. Wow does this bring me back. Crunch 'n Munch is awesome. Whatever happened to it?! Almost like an offshoot of Cracker Jack I know I always loved it, but I guess it just couldn't survive, despite the pairing with Marvel on some awesome exclusive trading cards. I am definitely the target market for this ad. Love the candy, love the cards, love the comics, and the presentation of the ad as an issue of What If... is just classic.
From the looks of eBay you can find these sets of cards now (they apparently had a few different runs of cards), and they'll cost you anywhere between $20 and $65 for a full set.
Next up we've got two of my favorite superheroes together at last. Spider-man and the Kool-Aid man, Oh Yeah! I believe this is an ad specifically for the launching of the Wacky Warehouse program in Canada. Pretty sweet. I like how Spidey is joining Kool-Aid on his trademark wall breakage... seems slightly out of character for him, but I still enjoy it. Also I like the noting of New Rock-a-dile Red. That's a classic :)
Finally a Grrrrreeeeat! team up with Spider-man and Tony the Tiger. How could that not be awesome! These guys are awesome, and with a free comic book on the line this is something I'd definitely be down to read. Not sure how much good it'll do promoting the whole "drug free" messaging, but who cares. Spidey and Tony... These guys could kick some serious butt together!
These ads are from X-Men Adventures #9, and the Amazing Spider-Man limited series Canadian PSA issues #3 and #4 respectively.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Old Ads Candy
So many old ads so little time, as we roll on with our series check out these awesome retro candy ads :)
Well this Nerds ad can't be that old can it. They've go the Willy Wonka design on it. But I love the "Intense" design for this super Intense -tasting candy! Neon Nerds! Can you get any more 90s than that! I mean neon in general is awesome, but by making our candy neon you've stepped into truly radical territory. And to top it off, in true 90s fashion the ad features some totally 90s extreme sports. Skateboarding (note the old school board) and inline skating. Totally tubular! Below the graphic the cool neon pink sunglass wearing Nerd lets us know about the new flavors - Pinktricity and ElectricOrange! this is some truly amazing design and marketing work. Then to top it off you've got a rebate coupon, giving you absolutely no reason not to try these awesome new Nerds. My only real complaint here is Wonka showing up. As much as I like the guy, its conflicting imagery to have him stumbling into the middle of my Nerds ad. Still, overall this is an amazing 90s advertisment.
Next up, we've got Brach's Rocks candy. Honestly I've never had this before, in fact I don't even remember if I've ever heard of it before, but I definitely like this ad. Rocky D. Dinosaur is obviously a totally cool dude. I mean he's wearing a letterman jacket, and sunglasses! How could he not be cool. He's definitely the James Spader of 80s candy icons... kind of a prick, but you love him anyhow. And look, he's actually chilling out on the hood of a pink Cadillac. I can't decide if this is more of a Denver the last Dinosaur ripoff or a Cadillac's and Dinosaurs ripoff, either way, its pretty awesome. Honestly the candy is secondary to the mascot in my opinion, Sure Rocky, you want me to eat rocks... ok, I'm down with that, lets just hang out and look cool together ok?
Finally today we've got a fun, and relatively simple Twizzlers ad. It takes the simple defacement of a poster to the next level. Fun, witty, devilish, and just the kind of play with your candy that every kid loves. I love the fact that Twizzlers are a playable candy. It just adds a whole other dimension to the fun of eating it. This ad is great at playing up that angle. I remember distinctly when the Twizzlers Pull-and-Peel was introduced and this was really a big deal in the licorice world. I'm not even a licorice fan and I knew about it. The one other thing that has to be noted here is something I don't think I would've noticed as a kid, but that guy, the face... its pretty funny to start with. Is that guy someone I should know? If he is I've missed it. He's definitely got a great look though, and defacing his picture makes it even more fun :)
These ads are from X-Men Adventures #9, and Jughead with Archie digest #124 respectively.
Well this Nerds ad can't be that old can it. They've go the Willy Wonka design on it. But I love the "Intense" design for this super Intense -tasting candy! Neon Nerds! Can you get any more 90s than that! I mean neon in general is awesome, but by making our candy neon you've stepped into truly radical territory. And to top it off, in true 90s fashion the ad features some totally 90s extreme sports. Skateboarding (note the old school board) and inline skating. Totally tubular! Below the graphic the cool neon pink sunglass wearing Nerd lets us know about the new flavors - Pinktricity and ElectricOrange! this is some truly amazing design and marketing work. Then to top it off you've got a rebate coupon, giving you absolutely no reason not to try these awesome new Nerds. My only real complaint here is Wonka showing up. As much as I like the guy, its conflicting imagery to have him stumbling into the middle of my Nerds ad. Still, overall this is an amazing 90s advertisment.
Next up, we've got Brach's Rocks candy. Honestly I've never had this before, in fact I don't even remember if I've ever heard of it before, but I definitely like this ad. Rocky D. Dinosaur is obviously a totally cool dude. I mean he's wearing a letterman jacket, and sunglasses! How could he not be cool. He's definitely the James Spader of 80s candy icons... kind of a prick, but you love him anyhow. And look, he's actually chilling out on the hood of a pink Cadillac. I can't decide if this is more of a Denver the last Dinosaur ripoff or a Cadillac's and Dinosaurs ripoff, either way, its pretty awesome. Honestly the candy is secondary to the mascot in my opinion, Sure Rocky, you want me to eat rocks... ok, I'm down with that, lets just hang out and look cool together ok?
Finally today we've got a fun, and relatively simple Twizzlers ad. It takes the simple defacement of a poster to the next level. Fun, witty, devilish, and just the kind of play with your candy that every kid loves. I love the fact that Twizzlers are a playable candy. It just adds a whole other dimension to the fun of eating it. This ad is great at playing up that angle. I remember distinctly when the Twizzlers Pull-and-Peel was introduced and this was really a big deal in the licorice world. I'm not even a licorice fan and I knew about it. The one other thing that has to be noted here is something I don't think I would've noticed as a kid, but that guy, the face... its pretty funny to start with. Is that guy someone I should know? If he is I've missed it. He's definitely got a great look though, and defacing his picture makes it even more fun :)
These ads are from X-Men Adventures #9, and Jughead with Archie digest #124 respectively.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Old Ads wrap and more
I've really enjoyed posting about some of the old ads for candy, chocolate, and snacks. I'm sure you guys can tell how much I love packaging, graphics,and advertising. Honestly you probably knew that beforehand, but now you've seen me revel in it a bit. For now I'm done looking at old ads, but I think I'll run another series on advertising later this year. Maybe look at some of my favorite tv commercials. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas or suggestions for ads you think are worth a look.
For those of you that may have missed it here are links to the various Old Ads posts:
Old Ads intro
Old Ads bubble gum pt 1
Old Ads snacks
Old Ads bubble gum pt 2
Old Ads kool-aid
Old Ads M&Ms
As we wrap up Spring around here and move into summer I wanted to also give you a bit of a tease for whats to come. Summertime is a great time to get out and about, its also a great time for big summer movies, and a bit later this summer I'll be having a look at some of the best films about and featuring candy and chocolate I can find. Actually there aren't that many of them so I may just look at everything.
More details on that coming in a few weeks, but its time to start watching :)
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Old Ads M&Ms
Today we continue looking at advertising from yesteryear. This one should be a bit shorter than the past few. I've got a fun look at two ads for M&M.
Wow, can you even remember back to when M&Ms only had two flavors? Back before they introduced their crazy tv personalities, and there could be lots of different colors hanging out? Green didn't equal female, and Orange didn't equal peanut butter... or is it crispy? Anyhow, it was a simpler time. These are the milk chocolates that "Melts in your mouth - Not in your hand." seriously, that was a great tagline, and they used it for years. They should bring that back.
As for the ad its great, M&Ms have always been sporty. Its a nice characteristic for chocolate, it seems somehow wholesome, and goes against the grain to promote healthiness, or at least an active life. As seen in the bubblegum post pt 2, people love baseball, so giving away baseball cards in 6 packs of M&Ms is a good idea. Very All-American.
This next ad is really fun too. I like the art style for both ads, but this one especially shows off the goofy characters. Its refreshing to see M&Ms as they used to be known. I guess in this ad they're about to catch the peanut M&M who just launched off the rings. Although it seems like a bit of a dangerous prospect especially considering only the top two M&Ms are even looking up. The guy in mid air seems totally at peace... maybe this is a standard M&M dismount technique. I know if it was me up there, I wouldn't for a minute put my hard candy shell in the hands of that knucklehead green guy in the middle of the stack. He seriously looks pretty dopey. Other than that though, its all good :)
Ah the fun of advertising. These ads were pulled from Silver Surfer #5, and Silver Surfer #2 respectively.
That's all I've got planned for this look back at old ads. thanks for joining me, I hope you stick around the Candy Aisle and check out some of the reviews.
Wow, can you even remember back to when M&Ms only had two flavors? Back before they introduced their crazy tv personalities, and there could be lots of different colors hanging out? Green didn't equal female, and Orange didn't equal peanut butter... or is it crispy? Anyhow, it was a simpler time. These are the milk chocolates that "Melts in your mouth - Not in your hand." seriously, that was a great tagline, and they used it for years. They should bring that back.
As for the ad its great, M&Ms have always been sporty. Its a nice characteristic for chocolate, it seems somehow wholesome, and goes against the grain to promote healthiness, or at least an active life. As seen in the bubblegum post pt 2, people love baseball, so giving away baseball cards in 6 packs of M&Ms is a good idea. Very All-American.
This next ad is really fun too. I like the art style for both ads, but this one especially shows off the goofy characters. Its refreshing to see M&Ms as they used to be known. I guess in this ad they're about to catch the peanut M&M who just launched off the rings. Although it seems like a bit of a dangerous prospect especially considering only the top two M&Ms are even looking up. The guy in mid air seems totally at peace... maybe this is a standard M&M dismount technique. I know if it was me up there, I wouldn't for a minute put my hard candy shell in the hands of that knucklehead green guy in the middle of the stack. He seriously looks pretty dopey. Other than that though, its all good :)
Ah the fun of advertising. These ads were pulled from Silver Surfer #5, and Silver Surfer #2 respectively.
That's all I've got planned for this look back at old ads. thanks for joining me, I hope you stick around the Candy Aisle and check out some of the reviews.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Old Ads kool-aid
Again we find ourselves here to take a look at some fun old advertising. Today we;ve got two fun ones for something that again is not specifically technically candy, but I feel like falls into the same catagory as all the best candy: Kool-Aid!
Sure as a kid I always liked Kool-Aid, but I rarely got it at home. I'd have to go to friends house to actually drink the stuff. Mostly Kool-Aid was famous for the awesome advertising. Who else had the guts to have their mascot break through walls every commercial?! It was genius.
So I've got a bit of a weird relationship to Kool-Aid now that I should probably disclose. So I really got into Kool-Aid in my 20s after I'd moved to California. I started reading the X-Entertainment blog and just loved the way Matt wrote up his Kool-Aid reviews. The guy has honestly been a blogging inspiration for me. Anyhow, I started actually collecting the different Kool-Aid packages myself because I loved the artwork so much, I think I have around 40 or 50. One day I do a post here just showing off the collection, but that's a different post. My point is, that I love Kool-Aid, even though my wife and I decided to cut it out of our lives a while back (even made with Splenda its just a heck of a lot of sugar), I have a deep and lasting affinity for all thing Kool-Aid.
Speaking of the Kool-Aid, and the Kool-Aid Man, lets get into the ads... Although you'll see he is breaking his way into both of these ads in typical fashion oddly enough neither ad is actually for Kool-Aid the drink.
Kool-Aid man had a comic book? And its free? Why didn't I know about this before? Maybe when I read this ad as a kid I didn't put one and one together but a Kool-Aid Man comic sounds awesome. He's taking on the evil Thirsties, who look a lot more like electricity with a HUGE green tongue and I think that's great. Not sure why exactly he's coming out of the tv... oh wait, he's coming out of the tv and into the comic book you're reading the ad in... very high concept there. Anyhow it looks very kool. I wonder if he actually steps on tongues regularly in the comic... like is that his power. tounge stepping? Sure he'd be pretty heavy and all but you'd think a giant talking pitcher of Kool-Aid could work something more magical than a tongue stomp.
Sure as a kid I always liked Kool-Aid, but I rarely got it at home. I'd have to go to friends house to actually drink the stuff. Mostly Kool-Aid was famous for the awesome advertising. Who else had the guts to have their mascot break through walls every commercial?! It was genius.
So I've got a bit of a weird relationship to Kool-Aid now that I should probably disclose. So I really got into Kool-Aid in my 20s after I'd moved to California. I started reading the X-Entertainment blog and just loved the way Matt wrote up his Kool-Aid reviews. The guy has honestly been a blogging inspiration for me. Anyhow, I started actually collecting the different Kool-Aid packages myself because I loved the artwork so much, I think I have around 40 or 50. One day I do a post here just showing off the collection, but that's a different post. My point is, that I love Kool-Aid, even though my wife and I decided to cut it out of our lives a while back (even made with Splenda its just a heck of a lot of sugar), I have a deep and lasting affinity for all thing Kool-Aid.
Speaking of the Kool-Aid, and the Kool-Aid Man, lets get into the ads... Although you'll see he is breaking his way into both of these ads in typical fashion oddly enough neither ad is actually for Kool-Aid the drink.
Kool-Aid man had a comic book? And its free? Why didn't I know about this before? Maybe when I read this ad as a kid I didn't put one and one together but a Kool-Aid Man comic sounds awesome. He's taking on the evil Thirsties, who look a lot more like electricity with a HUGE green tongue and I think that's great. Not sure why exactly he's coming out of the tv... oh wait, he's coming out of the tv and into the comic book you're reading the ad in... very high concept there. Anyhow it looks very kool. I wonder if he actually steps on tongues regularly in the comic... like is that his power. tounge stepping? Sure he'd be pretty heavy and all but you'd think a giant talking pitcher of Kool-Aid could work something more magical than a tongue stomp.
And the next ad is pretty awesome as well. I totally want to play the Kool-Aid Man video game. 125 points is not that hard to get. Especially if you find some double points packets. Also theres a 30 point + $10 option which makes it much more affordable to kids. Not that I had an Intellivision or 2600 (we had a Vic 20, then went right to Commodore 64), but I definitely want to experience the thrill of breaking down a wall and shouting "Oh Yeah!!" in game format... Here's a look at some of the gameplay I found on YouTube.
Seems pretty awesome. Even though I don't totally get whats happening, I know I want to play it.
These two ads were pulled from What If...? #40, and What If...? #41 respectively.
That's all for the ads today, next week I'll be back with a few classic ads for M&Ms.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Old Ads bubble gum pt 2
Well here we are again in my ongoing series talking about some of the coolest old candy ads out there. Today I'm continuing on talking about some old bubble gum ads I found among my comic books. If you haven't yet, please go check out part 1 where we looked at 3 awesome Bubble Yum ads.
Today though we're starting with the other big dog in the gum world, at least for me, Hubba Bubba.
Talk about your wordy ads. This is like a novel. I'm not sure what the Wrigley people were thinking when they approved this ad, because it is way too busy. Ok though, lets have a look at this: Gumfighting Dos and Don'ts. That's pretty cute, I can imagine the tv ad for it now, an old west showdown. That's pretty cool. Their big selling point though is definitely the "no stick bubbles" which is of course trade-marked. I know I hated when gum got stuck to my face, so they have a point, you need a good gum for avoiding that. But for all of these kids bubble gums, I don't think any of them stuck to your face, it was only adult gum that did that.
I like the gumfighting stance, the 93 degree arms akimbo (by the way dummy, that means bent). And I really like the paper bag kid. He just can't win when he's not using Hubba Bubba. Its obviously a pretty sorry fate to those people silly enough to try gumfighting with another brand.
Finally I'm kind of amused that Hubba Bubba only comes in Original and Mint flavors. Seriously, mint? That's not one I remember...
These days Hubba Bubba comes in flavors ranging from Outrageous Original, toSweet and Sassy Cherry, Strawberry Watermelon, and Mystery Flavor (for real...). They've also got Bubble Tape, and more branded stuff, but rest assured Hubba Bubba continues to this day.
The same unfortunately be said for the next ad, for Bonkers!
Bonkers is not gum. Lets just get that out of the way. Its a chewy candy that looks an awful lot like gum. I'm trying to remember what it tastes like, but while I remember the commercials, I can't actually recall if I actually ever had it. It was a Nabisco product that had its time in the 80s and then ran its course. The commercials on tv had uptight people eating the candy and then going nuts as it "Bonks You Out!", this was often accompanied by a huge piece of fruit landing on them. I think that's what this ad is trying to show us too. The person in the middle here is a cartoon of the spokeswoman for the candy. It always amazes me to think that there was a time when it was hip to have old people as your spokesperson for kids. Maybe it was a reaction to the Where's the Beef? lady.
Anyhow, the ad is fun, if a bit busy. It takes place in the town of Bonkerville where the population is "bonked out!" from all the fruit falling from the sky. Notice the blimp in the top corner there... do you think they're suggesting that the blimp is dropping the giant fruits on people eating Bonkers? My guess is no, its just a weird magical phenomenon that when you have this candy giant fruits fall from the sky. Speaking of which, why would anyone eat this thing if they knew they we're going to get clobbered with a giant strawberry or something? I know they always seem to end up laughing, but I would be scared of huge falling fruits. Here's a question for you, since there are 3 flavors, which one would you rather have fall on your head? giant strawberry, giant grapes, or a giant orange? My vote is for grapes, at least then you could dodge and weave in-between them.
The last ad I've got for you is a two in one for Rain-Blo and Super Bubble.
These are both third rate gums in my opinion, and the ad is cheap, BUT I do like kites, and this is giving me a chance to get a cool one, even if it has a lame brand on it. I was always a sucker for mail-away offers, even if the product was a bit weak. The kits sound good: made of nylon with a fiberglass frame, a streamer tails. That's a pretty classic design. But $4.95 plus two proofs of purchase? that's too much for this. I'm pretty sure Rain-Blo were the hollow gumball style gum that you'd get at halloween in 3 packs, but I never bought the stuff intentionally. As for the kite, yes its cool, but no its not worth the cost, especially if you have to buy the gum.
There's not much in terms of the picture on the ad. Although that kid is pretty multi-talented, flying two kites at once with the same hand, while blowing a bubble, all the time wearing his sunglasses. Honestly he's kind of an ass with those shades on. We'd have to get James Spader to play him in the movie.... maybe the gumfighter kid could come by and kick his butt. Now that would be entertaining.
Rain-blo and Super Bubble are still around. It was bought from Hershey in '03 by Farley's & Sanders Candy Co. My vote still remains that you should stay away from them though. There are better things to eat out there.
These ads we're pulled from What If...? #21, Web of Spider-Man #2, and Silver Surfer #2 respectively.
Alright, thats all I've got for today, I'll have another post next week looking at some fun Kool-Aid ads! Until then keep those arms akimbo (that's bent dum dum...)
Today though we're starting with the other big dog in the gum world, at least for me, Hubba Bubba.
Talk about your wordy ads. This is like a novel. I'm not sure what the Wrigley people were thinking when they approved this ad, because it is way too busy. Ok though, lets have a look at this: Gumfighting Dos and Don'ts. That's pretty cute, I can imagine the tv ad for it now, an old west showdown. That's pretty cool. Their big selling point though is definitely the "no stick bubbles" which is of course trade-marked. I know I hated when gum got stuck to my face, so they have a point, you need a good gum for avoiding that. But for all of these kids bubble gums, I don't think any of them stuck to your face, it was only adult gum that did that.
Finally I'm kind of amused that Hubba Bubba only comes in Original and Mint flavors. Seriously, mint? That's not one I remember...
These days Hubba Bubba comes in flavors ranging from Outrageous Original, toSweet and Sassy Cherry, Strawberry Watermelon, and Mystery Flavor (for real...). They've also got Bubble Tape, and more branded stuff, but rest assured Hubba Bubba continues to this day.
The same unfortunately be said for the next ad, for Bonkers!
Anyhow, the ad is fun, if a bit busy. It takes place in the town of Bonkerville where the population is "bonked out!" from all the fruit falling from the sky. Notice the blimp in the top corner there... do you think they're suggesting that the blimp is dropping the giant fruits on people eating Bonkers? My guess is no, its just a weird magical phenomenon that when you have this candy giant fruits fall from the sky. Speaking of which, why would anyone eat this thing if they knew they we're going to get clobbered with a giant strawberry or something? I know they always seem to end up laughing, but I would be scared of huge falling fruits. Here's a question for you, since there are 3 flavors, which one would you rather have fall on your head? giant strawberry, giant grapes, or a giant orange? My vote is for grapes, at least then you could dodge and weave in-between them.
The last ad I've got for you is a two in one for Rain-Blo and Super Bubble.
These are both third rate gums in my opinion, and the ad is cheap, BUT I do like kites, and this is giving me a chance to get a cool one, even if it has a lame brand on it. I was always a sucker for mail-away offers, even if the product was a bit weak. The kits sound good: made of nylon with a fiberglass frame, a streamer tails. That's a pretty classic design. But $4.95 plus two proofs of purchase? that's too much for this. I'm pretty sure Rain-Blo were the hollow gumball style gum that you'd get at halloween in 3 packs, but I never bought the stuff intentionally. As for the kite, yes its cool, but no its not worth the cost, especially if you have to buy the gum.
There's not much in terms of the picture on the ad. Although that kid is pretty multi-talented, flying two kites at once with the same hand, while blowing a bubble, all the time wearing his sunglasses. Honestly he's kind of an ass with those shades on. We'd have to get James Spader to play him in the movie.... maybe the gumfighter kid could come by and kick his butt. Now that would be entertaining.
Rain-blo and Super Bubble are still around. It was bought from Hershey in '03 by Farley's & Sanders Candy Co. My vote still remains that you should stay away from them though. There are better things to eat out there.
These ads we're pulled from What If...? #21, Web of Spider-Man #2, and Silver Surfer #2 respectively.
Alright, thats all I've got for today, I'll have another post next week looking at some fun Kool-Aid ads! Until then keep those arms akimbo (that's bent dum dum...)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Old Ads snacks
Welcome to another look at some fun old advertisements for candy that I came across while browsing my comic collection. Today I'm going a bit off track of tradition here on Walking the Candy Aisle, as we look at a few snacks. While technically these probably aren't in the candy aisle in every store. You'll certainly find all of these treats nearby the candy aisle, and their advertisements are great.
First up today is Hostess with a double ad for Cupcakes and Twinkies!
Hostess snacks are great. Too bad I was never ever allowed to eat them when I was a kid. After deliciously describing these treats the ad asks us to "Ask mom... she knows!" Well my mom certainly didn't. Not to pout, but really that kind of stinks. Did you guys get Twinkies growing up???
Anyhow, apparently these cakes are SO good that it even brings rival baseball teams together over their awesomeness, although why they both have their gloves on is beyond me. Which team is at bat if they're both in the field? Any why the heck don't they take the gloves off to eat the Hostess cakes?! did they just catch them in a popfly? If that's the case I can understand their looks of wonder and amazement. Either that, or they're wondering who took that bite out of their delicious treats...
As for the baseball cards, well that's pretty cool. Apparently Hostess produced a couple of these sets of baseball cards over the years. With 150 cards, that's (do the obvious math now) 50 boxes of twinkies to buy... seems like an awful lot, but complete sets of this run are going on ebay for between $200 and $300 dollars, so I guess it was worth it to whatever obsessive kids could manage it. Even if I had been allowed Twinkies I don't think I would've been able to get all those cards though...
Onto an ad for Cracker Jack.
Well this just proves it, people love baseball. Even I could tell that despite growing up in Canada even with the hockey fanatics. This is definitely a fun little story about Scottie the Cracker Jack winning the big game. I'm glad the coach believes in him, even if he has his doubts. Thank goodness Scottie didn't strike out, that would really make for a depressing advertisement... It'd probably be pretty funny though. I guess this is little league or something but I have to point out the lack of helmets. It was a different time then. As for the Cracker Jacks themselves, well I've always been a fan. These days given the choice I'd probably go for Poppycock instead but Cracker jack was always fun as a kid, and the prizes we're pretty fun. I mean not like Kinder egg fun, or like they used to be back in the 50s and 60s fun, but the prizes we're at least something. Now I think when you get a Cracker Jack box you're lucky if you get anything more entertaining than a Bozooka Joe comic.
This next ad for Slim Jims is just for quick fun. I always loved Slim Jim, but didn't remember any advertising for it before Macho Man came on board. It's nice to see they had an actual campaign with a through line fighting the Horrible Hungries before Randy Savage joined up. I also had no idea they came in 6 different flavors (mild, spicy, pizza, bacon, salami, and peperoni). And finally I have to agree with the tag here: "A little less than a meal, a little more than a snack." Nice.
Finally I;ve got a couple of cookie ads. The first is another game ad, this time from Oreo.
As you know I love advertising that gives me a game as well. This time its an Oreo decoder puzzle.... Wait a sec. around the cookie 5 times?! That's too much. What do I look like I've got all day here? Ok, ok... I know as a kid I would've been all over wasting my time doing this. But with an answer key right there I just can't bring myself to actually put in all that work. Yes I love Oreo, but that dedication only goes so far.
Back in the day it seemed like Oreo and Chips Ahoy! we're the only game in town when it came to store bought cookies. At least they were the only ones marketed to kids. I remember how excited I got when double stuff Oreos we're announced. Even though we didn't usually have Oreos around the house you can't be a child of the 80s and not remember the advertising. It was as heartwarming as Coca cola, with the fun of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
My only question about the ad, who's glove is that???
The final ad for you today is another 'cookie-like' product, its Fig Netwon.
As you may have expected I am a fan of Fig Newton, I'm also a fan of treasure maps. It seemed like a staple of cereal commercials that at some point Lucky, or Trix, or Toucan Sam would have to navigate their way through a treasure map to the goal of delicious cereal and I'm glad to see it carried over to Fig Newton. Question for those playing along at home... is a Fig Newton a cookie? I never thought so myself but I've heard others call it one. I see on the ad itself they call it a cookie, but its certainly non-traditional if it is one. Whats your take on it?
As for the ad I really enjoy it. There's is so much fun imagery here, I like the idea of a world with fig forests, and newton mountains. Probably not somewhere I'd like to live permanently. but it'd be a pretty fun place to visit. It does seem a bit odd that a pirate is hiding Fig Newton treasure in a land literally made of Fig Newtons.... couldn't he just get more wherever he went? Ah well... It doesn't really matter, the ad is still brilliant.
These ads we're pulled from Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #11, What If...? #41, Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #11 again, Web of Spider-Man #2, and Web of Spider-Man #1 respectively. Next week I've got the conclusion to our look at some bubble gum ads. It should be fun!
First up today is Hostess with a double ad for Cupcakes and Twinkies!
Anyhow, apparently these cakes are SO good that it even brings rival baseball teams together over their awesomeness, although why they both have their gloves on is beyond me. Which team is at bat if they're both in the field? Any why the heck don't they take the gloves off to eat the Hostess cakes?! did they just catch them in a popfly? If that's the case I can understand their looks of wonder and amazement. Either that, or they're wondering who took that bite out of their delicious treats...
As for the baseball cards, well that's pretty cool. Apparently Hostess produced a couple of these sets of baseball cards over the years. With 150 cards, that's (do the obvious math now) 50 boxes of twinkies to buy... seems like an awful lot, but complete sets of this run are going on ebay for between $200 and $300 dollars, so I guess it was worth it to whatever obsessive kids could manage it. Even if I had been allowed Twinkies I don't think I would've been able to get all those cards though...
Onto an ad for Cracker Jack.
Well this just proves it, people love baseball. Even I could tell that despite growing up in Canada even with the hockey fanatics. This is definitely a fun little story about Scottie the Cracker Jack winning the big game. I'm glad the coach believes in him, even if he has his doubts. Thank goodness Scottie didn't strike out, that would really make for a depressing advertisement... It'd probably be pretty funny though. I guess this is little league or something but I have to point out the lack of helmets. It was a different time then. As for the Cracker Jacks themselves, well I've always been a fan. These days given the choice I'd probably go for Poppycock instead but Cracker jack was always fun as a kid, and the prizes we're pretty fun. I mean not like Kinder egg fun, or like they used to be back in the 50s and 60s fun, but the prizes we're at least something. Now I think when you get a Cracker Jack box you're lucky if you get anything more entertaining than a Bozooka Joe comic.
This next ad for Slim Jims is just for quick fun. I always loved Slim Jim, but didn't remember any advertising for it before Macho Man came on board. It's nice to see they had an actual campaign with a through line fighting the Horrible Hungries before Randy Savage joined up. I also had no idea they came in 6 different flavors (mild, spicy, pizza, bacon, salami, and peperoni). And finally I have to agree with the tag here: "A little less than a meal, a little more than a snack." Nice.Finally I;ve got a couple of cookie ads. The first is another game ad, this time from Oreo.
As you know I love advertising that gives me a game as well. This time its an Oreo decoder puzzle.... Wait a sec. around the cookie 5 times?! That's too much. What do I look like I've got all day here? Ok, ok... I know as a kid I would've been all over wasting my time doing this. But with an answer key right there I just can't bring myself to actually put in all that work. Yes I love Oreo, but that dedication only goes so far.
Back in the day it seemed like Oreo and Chips Ahoy! we're the only game in town when it came to store bought cookies. At least they were the only ones marketed to kids. I remember how excited I got when double stuff Oreos we're announced. Even though we didn't usually have Oreos around the house you can't be a child of the 80s and not remember the advertising. It was as heartwarming as Coca cola, with the fun of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
My only question about the ad, who's glove is that???
The final ad for you today is another 'cookie-like' product, its Fig Netwon.
As you may have expected I am a fan of Fig Newton, I'm also a fan of treasure maps. It seemed like a staple of cereal commercials that at some point Lucky, or Trix, or Toucan Sam would have to navigate their way through a treasure map to the goal of delicious cereal and I'm glad to see it carried over to Fig Newton. Question for those playing along at home... is a Fig Newton a cookie? I never thought so myself but I've heard others call it one. I see on the ad itself they call it a cookie, but its certainly non-traditional if it is one. Whats your take on it?
As for the ad I really enjoy it. There's is so much fun imagery here, I like the idea of a world with fig forests, and newton mountains. Probably not somewhere I'd like to live permanently. but it'd be a pretty fun place to visit. It does seem a bit odd that a pirate is hiding Fig Newton treasure in a land literally made of Fig Newtons.... couldn't he just get more wherever he went? Ah well... It doesn't really matter, the ad is still brilliant.
These ads we're pulled from Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #11, What If...? #41, Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #11 again, Web of Spider-Man #2, and Web of Spider-Man #1 respectively. Next week I've got the conclusion to our look at some bubble gum ads. It should be fun!
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