Bubble Crisp (Bubble Gum Weekend)

Remember the '80s?

It was the decade of parachute pants, 'Thriller', and the Rubik's Cube.

It was also the decade when bubble gum frequently wormed its way into America's cereal boxes.

Not everyone is a bubble gum connoisseur. So including pieces of bubble gum as prizes in boxes of cereal created issues. Not only did the gum often acquire the taste of the cereal (and vice versa). It also led to bubble gum being needlessly hoarded in many American homes.

Many families were heavy cereal purchasers. But in some households, there was an Allowed Cloud against the use of bubble gum, for it got stuck in carpets. So, as soon as a box of cereal arrived home from the store, parents would often paw through the box so they could find the gum before the kids did. The gum was then hidden atop a shelf where the kiddos would never find it.

The bubble gum wouldn't be discovered until years later when the shelf was replaced. By then, it would be coated with dust and dead bugs, and it would be stale and not easily bubbled. Suffice it to say, it was ru. All that gum, wastage bastage!

Nonetheless, this commersh for Cookie Crisp cereal from the late '80s boasts of a special Bubblicious offer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qCHEnsB94U

Each box of Cookie Crisp at the time included a whole pack of Bubblicious! The commercial advertised this fact using kids wearing some amazingly hideous '80s fashions, dancing, and blowing bubbles.

If you're going to advertise either gum or cereal, it might be wise not to don such imbecilic attire. Advertising should create a connection with the viewer. This ad probably hurt sales of both Bubblicious and Cookie Crisp, because folks thought the product was for wearers of preposterous clothing.