Monday, February 9, 2009

The Rise and Fall Of Bubblegum

In my last blog I told about bubblegum's invention and how the product grew because of big bubbles.

It's quite a history bubblegum has, one that most other products would probably give their right arm for. I mean, how many other thousands of products never survive 80 years? Many products never even survive eight years. Heck. Many products probably never even see the light of day.

It's obvious bubblegum was built on the BIG bubble. So you'd think manufacturers would take a cue from Walter Diemer and drive that point home every chance they get. But sadly they don't. The reason why is open to speculation, which I may do in later blogs. But for now, incredibly they DON'T.

And the effects are obvious. Kids just don't seem to love the product like they used to. A big emphasis in bubblegum has, in recent years, been put on taste. While bubblegum that tastes good is not a bad thing, when you forget about what the product is really made for and start selling the taste of it, it begins to be like any other candy.

The point is, it's not just some other candy. You eat candy because you want something that tastes good, and that's it (unless your buying it as some kind of novelty). Bubblegum is about blowing big bubbles. I know there are a lot of different bubblegums out there and some blow much bigger bubbles than others. Some bubblegums might be considered "bubblegum candy" especially if they are heavily promoted because of their taste and they can't be used to blow really big bubbles.

That, I believe, is whats responsible for "the fall of bubblegum." If other things about the product are going to be promoted other then the big bubble, then big bubbles are going, for the most part, to be forgotten, and seemingly that's what happened. BIG bubbles are a cultural icon and their loss would be tragic.

So our goal to create the future of bubblegum is really a pretty old idea. Promote the BIG bubble. Just like it was done in the beginning!

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