Vintage Halloween Candy Newspaper Ad Circulars from the 80’s and 90’s!

It might be surprising to learn that, outside of the packaging itself, one of the best places to learn about historical confectionery products and marketing is through the promotional circulars published in weekend newspapers.  Today, I’m going to take a look at a handful of Halloween candy circulars from the 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Each of the seven circulars I have to show off today contains a coupon, and quite a few of them include a witch as well!

This first might be my favorite of the bunch as it presents a lovely range of large multi-bag snack-size packages:

Leaf – Halloween candy newspaper coupon circular – 1988

That circular is as interesting for the items that are pictured as it is for the ones only listed (but not pictured) on the coupon:  Bingo Caramels and Mighty Bite Taffy are two 1980’s Leaf packages I’d love to have images of, and while I don’t, at least I now know they were being sold in 1987.

Next up is a circular that presents a classic Hershey’s candy assortment as well as a classic Halloween scene:

Hershey – Halloween “Treats for Treatment” – Children’s Miracle Network Telethon – candy newspaper circular coupon – 1987

That woman is giving out full-size Hershey bars – I’ll bet her house was popular!

M&M/Mars was also in the mix with a pair of Halloween kids on a circular in 1987 – though this one took the illustrated route:

M&M/Mars – Dove Bar – Halloween candy newspaper circular coupon – 1987

That same year M&M/Mars teamed-up with General Foods for this odd bit of product tie-in with M&M’s and Maxwell House Master Blend coffee:

Mars – M&M’s and Maxwell House Master Blend – Halloween candy-coffee newspaper circular coupon – 1987

I quite like the illustration on this 1989 circular for Peter Paul’s Almond Joy, Mounds and York Peppermint Patties – as the girl appears to be dressed in a kind of Pilgrim-as-Witch costume:

Hershey’s – Almond Joy Mounds York – Halloween candy newspaper circular coupon – 1989

Next up is a simple little half-page circular ad for a Halloween mainstay, Kraft Caramels – as well as some other Kraft treats:

Kraft – Caramels, Toffee, Nutter Bits, Fudgies – Halloween candy newspaper circular coupon – 1987

I’ve never come across a package for Kraft Nutter Bits and beyond that I don’t think I’ve ever encountered any of the 1987 Kraft packaging seen in that circular at all.

Last up today is a simple circular from the early 1990’s that frames Cadbury’s Caramello with Halloween graphics for its 25-cent off promotion:

Cadbury’s Caramello – Halloween candy newspaper circular coupon – 1993

Vintage circulars can be neat to see but beyond that, they can also help clearly define what candy packaging from a specific period looked like.  The ones I’ve managed to pick up over the years have been a big help in figuring out the timelines of certain products.

And that’s everything for today’s post on vintage Halloween candy newspaper circulars.   I hope you enjoyed them and I’ll see you next time!

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Today’s post has been part of CollectingCandy.com’s 2013 Countdown to Halloween. To check out other sites celebrating Halloween all month long, check out the official CountdownToHalloween site.