I have yet to commit much coverage to the Necco brand here on CollectingCandy.com, but it’s not for lack of desire. Necco is an important American brand, so when I get there, I want to do it right. Until then, I’ve got today’s related post; a bit of a sideways look at Necco through the lens of a 1970’s Wacky Packages sticker parody.
Released as part of 1974’s Wacky Packages Series 12, Wrecko was a parody of Necco’s Wafers in assorted flavors.
Wacky Packages Series 12 - 1974 - Wrecko wafers
Wrecko is a Wacky Packages parody with a moral; that gambling can wreck your life. That’s pretty deep for a product that was marketed to be a sticker sold to kids.
I’m fortunate to have an unused 1970’s Necco Wafers wrapper example that matches up nicely with the version parodied in this classic Wacky sticker. All of the key package graphic design elements match up. Here it is:
Necco - Assorted Wafers candy wrapper - 1970's
And that’s everything for today’s edition of Wacky Wednesdays. I hope you’ve enjoyed this look back, and I hope this serves as a sneak peek to my future Necco-centric column. See you next time!
NECCO HQ is about a 20 minute drive from my house. Unfortunately, they don’t do factory tours.
Jason,
I recall a brief period in time when Necco offered a third flavor for their rolled up wafers. They were ‘sour or tart’ and weren’t around for very long. Do you recall these at all? Is there a wrapper anywhere in evidence? Did they get threatened by ‘Sweet-tarts’ for having too similar of a product?
Perhaps there were more flavors?
Thanks
Bob,
That’s correct, and I believe I have a Tart/Sour Necco Wafers wrapper in my files (though not in my scanned archives yet). I should point out that beyond the original flavor assortment and Chocolate, they’ve also made “Smoothies” flavor as recently as a few years ago and “Tropical” which was out only a year or two ago (might still be on-sale). I know there have been others over the decades.. maybe a Peppermint roll? I guess I need to figure out the many flavors of Necco Wafers that have been made, and write about it at some point. 🙂
Also, for Halloween just this year, a fun-size Halloween-themed package included Sour/Tart Necco Wafers in little short rolls, where the wrappers had monster faces on them. Pretty neat! I do have some of those.
Jason,
Once again, well done.
Bob