Juicy Fruit
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| Type | Chewing gum |
|---|---|
| Current owner | Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Introduced | 1893 |
| Related brands | Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint |
| Website | http://www.juicyfruit.com/ |
Juicy Fruit is a brand of chewing gum made by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a U.S. company that since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the privately-held Mars, Incorporated. It was introduced in 1893, and in the 21st century the brand name is recognized by 99 percent of Americans, with total sales in 2002 of 153 million units.[1]
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[edit] Description
The average age of the typical Juicy Fruit consumer is under 20, with 3- to 11-year-olds making up the heart of the business; those 20 years old and over account for 40 percent of the purchases.[1]
Which fruit serves as the model for its flavor is kept vague in advertising, though in 2003 BBDO characterized it as a combination of pineapple and peach.[1] According to two books in the Imponderables series, banana is one crucial flavor among many others.[2][3] It is likely that the chemical used for flavoring is isopentenyl acetate, a carboxylic ester.[4]
Each stick of gum weighs 3 grams (0.11 oz) and contains 10 Calories (42 kJ).[citation needed]
[edit] History
When the brand first entered the market, it was packaged simply, with a plain wrapper and "JUICY FRUIT" in red, thin block letters; in 1914, Wrigley changed it to thin vertical white and green stripes with "Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum" centered in a stylized Maltese Cross emblem with a black background.[5] Juicy Fruit was taken off the civilian market temporarily during World War II because of ingredient shortages and the demand for the gum to be included in C-rations. When the gum was re-introduced to the general public after World War II ended, the striped packaging was replaced by one with a bright yellow background and "Juicy Fruit" bracketed between two stylized chevrons, the latter a motif meant to echo the "Wrigley arrow" element used for Wrigley's Spearmint since 1893.[5] The bright yellow background remained into the 21st century, with variations since 2002 turning the arrowhead-like chevrons into the corners of an elongated smile under the brand name.[5]Juicy Fruit is still commonly bought and loved today.
In 2003 in the United States, Wrigley's replaced some of the sugar in Juicy Fruit with two artificial sweeteners, aspartame and Ace K. In 2009, Wrigley's started selling a sugar-free version of Juicy Fruit.[citation needed]
[edit] Reference in filmography
In the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film), the main character Randle Patrick McMurphy and 'Chief' Bromden wait their turn on a bench for Electro Convulsive therapy. While they wait, McMurphy offers Chief a piece of Juicy Fruit gum, and Bromden comments "Thank you", and a moment later, when McMurphy hands him another stick of gum, Chief says,"Ah, Juicy Fruit". A scene where McMurphy realises that the previously apparent deaf and dumb Chief is fully able to hear and communicate.
[edit] Versions
In the early 2000s, a pellet gum version was introduced, and contains no sugar, unlike the stick version. However, the green version contains sugar, and was introduced in 2006.
Flavors called "Strappleberry" and "Grapermelon" have been marketed under the Juicy Fruit brand.
[edit] Juicy Fruit Squeeze
In Canada, there is a Juicy Fruit Squeeze version similar to Cadbury Adams' Trident Splash.
[edit] Television commercial
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009) |
Since Wrigley's dropped the Doublemint Gum commercial featuring Chris Brown due to legal issues, Wrigley's released a new Juicy Fruit commercial featuring Julianne Hough singing the original Juicy fruit song with the new slim pack.
The gum achieved brief notoriety in the early 2000s when one of their commercials was censored by the FCC. The ad is a parody of a daytime children's show in which an overly cheerful host suddenly attacks her co-star, who is wearing a whale costume, for taking a stick of Juicy Fruit gum from her pocket while the two are singing a song about, ironically, sharing. A fight breaks out backstage and the commercial goes to a test pattern (implying the "network" had censored this unplanned incident), only to return to show the host physically assaulting the whale while the song continues in the background. The ad was criticized for airing during time slots when the sort of child-oriented shows it parodied were playing, and ostensibly legitimizing violence to young children. The ad was not removed from the air, but its play was limited to late-night television however the ad was removed in May, 2004.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Marketing symposium at Johnson School asks what makes brands legendary". Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University. November 6, 2003. http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/03/11.6.03/marketing_symp.html. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Feldman, David (2004) [First published in 1986 as Imponderables: The Solution to the Mysteries of Everyday Life]. Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?. Imponderables. p. 71. http://www.imponderables.com/master_index_static.php#J. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Feldman, David (2005) [First published in 1989]. When Do Fish Sleep?. Imponderables. p. 242. http://www.imponderables.com/master_index_static.php#J. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ Pavia, Donald L.; Lampman, Kriz, Engel (2007). Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques. Thomson Brooks/Cole. ISBN 978-0-495-01630-4.
- ^ a b c Juicy Fruit Packaging, from Wrigley's website
[edit] External links
- Juicy Fruit, the official website for the brand.
- "Juicy Fruit" at the Wrigley's website
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