Yesterday, I covered the evolution of Oreo cookie packaging from the 1950’s through the early 2,000’s. Today, I’ll be taking a look at the range of flavors and limited editions that Oreo has released over the past few years.
Oreo standard assortment packages - 2011
Oreo cookies are not a candy – they’re a cookie. Even so, I wanted to find a reason to post about this notable anniversary for the brand. So I searched my files and you know what? I found that I had a few Oreo branded candy bar wrappers from Japan. With those as my lead-in; welcome to CollectingCandy.com’s dedication to 100-years of Oreo!
I’ve previously pointed out that the history of candy and gum packaging is largely unknown. It’s a bit like a fossil record in that for every piece you’ve seen, there are likely ten more that you haven’t. For me that’s fun because it means there are always new surprises to find and new mysteries to uncover.
Oftentimes those mysteries surround a short-lived spinoff or packaging variation of a well-known brand. Other times they include products that were around for such a short period of time, that no one remembers them at all.
Such may be the case with this early 70’s product from Topps; Ringers Bubble Gum.
Ringers - The Adult Bubble Gum
I had the opportunity to be the fourth chair for this week’s NerdLunch podcast, and you can now hear how it went. I enjoyed talking with the guys while sharing my candy-infused perspective on a variety of nerdish topics. The focus of this episode was candy, so I was right at home. Check it out after the jump.
Following up the last two days of Zagnut-related coverage, I thought I’d include Wacky Wednesdays in the fun as well.
I can’t imagine there’s a candy bar as oddly-named as the Zagnut, and while I’ve researched quite a lot on it, the origins of the name itself are lost to time.
My initial attraction to the brand came from its cameo appearance in the movie Beetlejuice, which I detailed yesterday. Today, I’m going to focus on the broader range of Zagnut wrappers in my collection.
A sister to the Clark bar, Zagnut was first launched in 1930 by the D.L. Clark company, and it is still sold today. It bears mentioning that while Zagnut is now sold by Hershey, the Clark bar is currently a Necco brand. It’s a bit unusual, but it would appear that when the Clark brands were sold off, they were done so individually.
This is my earliest Zagnut wrapper – and it likely dates back to some of the earliest years of the brand:
Clark - Zagnut - 5-cent candy bar wrapper - 1930's-1940's
When the film Beetlejuice hit theaters in 1988 it was pretty amazing. It still stands as an extraordinary piece of film-making by visionary director Tim Burton.
For me it was the first time I noticed Burton’s work, or a candy bar I would come to learn had been around for decades.
Not only did the film showcase the unexpected and unforgettable use of Harry Belafonte’s rendition of Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), but it also featured the strange, non sequitur appearance of a Zagnut bar.
Beetlejuice offers it up
Back in the 1970’s, UK-based Rowntree Mackintosh released their Texan bar with the tagline, “The Mighty Chew”.
With a cool mascot and a neat wrapper, it’s been one of the vintage UK brands I’ve become enamored with as I’ve learned more about it. I’ve also set out to track down Texan pieces for my collection.
UK - Rowntree-Mackintosh - Texan chocolate candy bar wrapper - 1970's
Three weeks ago, I presented an assortment of unopened chocolate bars from 1981. As a candy collector, I originally acquired them with the desire to recover the packaging – not so much the decades-old chocolate inside.
Opening those packages and comparing the old contents with current versions turned out to be a fun topic and today I want to show you the fully-recovered packaging.
Zotz - Where the fizz izz - promo sticker - 1970's 1980's
I have clear memories of Zotz candy from when I was a kid, both the packaging and the confectionery experience it contained. The Zotz name and logo was like a comic book sound effect, and it accurately described the exclamation of eating one. Years before Pop Rocks would arrive on the scene, Zotz was the first candy that made me suspect that some strange science was at work inside. You see, this sour candy actually created a kind of fizzing when you ate it.
