Things just ain't what they use to be!

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

“i never thought anyone else nibbled the chocolate off completely before eating the wafer.
i even do it with marathon not snickers sounds very like another word.”

You know, I’m thinking of petitioning for ‘precision nibbling’ to be an Olympic sport As a kid – probably out of sheer boredom – I became quite expert in this field with all manner of snack foods undergoing something akin to deconstructive surgery.

“and the smarties packaging now i do not like.
the old packaging had a lid u had to take off.
i had to bite it off.”

There are a number of things that make the hexagonal Smarties tube significantly inferior to the old one. Firstly, kids will no longer have the joy of firing plastic lids across the room by slamming there hand on the tube – another thing that got me in trouble at school I recall. Secondly, said kids can’t spend their days reveling in simple pleasures like collecting differently coloured plastic caps with letters on so they may one day have the entire alphabet. Thirdly, pouring a steady stream of Smarties in to your mouth used to be the way of eating them but the piece of card that now semi-blocks the opening once the ‘hinged lid’ is lifted means you cannot do this. Fourthly, the new packaging accommodates an over stretched and clumpy brand name. The old design used to be smarter, better proportioned and, consequently, didn't make the confectionery look like something targeted at pre-schoolers. At the end of the day, I don’t know anyone that thought the redesign was good but, unfortunately, manufacturers can be a terribly stubborn lot.

Oh and on that Milkyway link, as SIT80's said, that’s the American version of a Mars Bar...always a confusing matter. By the way, that provides a nice segue to the confectionery travesty that is the Mars Bar. Growing up Mars Bars were simply superb, nowadays however, they have shrunk but, much worse, they taste nothing like their mighty predecessor with cheap, thin chocolate and an interior that tastes of nothing but sugar – another case of quality being sacrificed for profit margins. It’s sad to say but I can hardly finish the things in one go these days without something like a strong black coffee to mitigate the sweetness.

Matthew

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Ok, I've done my best to create you a new thread. Feel free to suggest a different thread title if you are not happy, its the first thing that popped into my head!

Hi huggie,

Thanks for moving this discussion - the topic was drifting away from sixtyten's excellent pics. Think "Things just ain't what they use to be!" sums it up pretty well even at the risk of sounding like a grumpy old codger

All the best,

Matthew

[Heather74]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

perhaps heather or herr can help us out where we can have a general thread.

or if they are both happy for us to continue as we are.

Ok, I've done my best to create you a new thread. Feel free to suggest a different thread title if you are not happy, its the first thing that popped into my head!

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Sweet wrappers over the years

anone remember these milkyway wrappers.
check this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kAVIRpSFKA
i cant remember them.
must not have been around for that long.

That looks like a modern American 'Milky Way' which is the same as our 'Mars' bar. Nothing like our 'Milky Way' and I dont think its from 70's 80's or 90's either.

[darren]

Re: Sweet wrappers over the years

anone remember these milkyway wrappers.
check this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kAVIRpSFKA
i cant remember them.
must not have been around for that long.

[darren]

Re: Sweet wrappers over the years

and the smarties packaging now i do not like.
the old packaging had a lid u had to take off.
i had to bite it off.

[darren]

Re: Sweet wrappers over the years

i never thought anyone else nibbled the chocolate off completely before eating the wafer.
i even do it with marathon not snickers sounds very like another word.

perhaps heather or herr can help us out where we can have a general thread.
o
or if they are both happy for us to continue as we are.

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Thanks for the link, I don’t remember the ad but it’s a fantastic to see it now. Looking in to things, I’m not aware of very much advertising for Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers at all which is remarkable given their success over the years. I guess that class sells itself.


As for the two-finger Kit Kat, it’s a miracle that Nestle actually used some common sense for once and kept the foil packaging - I just wish they had their heads screwed on when it came to travesties such as the Smarties’ tube.

What some manufacturers don’t understand is that in some cases the packaging is just as much as part of the product as the food itself and, consequently, without one or the other the product suffers. Indeed, the ritual unwrapping of a Kit Kat is solely dependent on its material choices: the paper wrapper is sprung open and removed; the fingers rub over the embossed brand name to reveal it on the foil; the thumb runs down the middle of the foil tearing it in two; and finally the fingers are neatly split down the centre. This never loses its charm for me nor – when bored at work - does the precision nibbling required to remove the chocolate first before eating the wafer centre. I remember at school how we would screw up the foil in to silver balls and throw them around. One day in class I even managed to accidently hit our physics teacher square in the face with one of these silver bullets as he timed his entrance through the door rather badly – very funny until the detentions came!


Oh and as for Cadbury Boost, that’s a fine example of a product whose brand history is enough to give me a headache. Regarding Marathon and others like Opal Fruits, well it’s probably better I don’t even go there or I will end
up writing an essayJ


Quite honestly Darren, I think this topic we've started discussing is a thread in of itself - does DYR have a 'rant' forum?!


Kind regards,


Matthew

[darren]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Hi Darren,

Glad to see I am not the only one that thinks this wayJ You’re totally right about Milk Tray.

Simple material choices can have huge effects on how we perceive a product. Things like gold foil communicate a certain ‘specialness’ about a brand whereas plastic packaging reeks of cheapness and mass production to my mind. I also tack onto this issue the one of product graphics which all too often look overly synthetic – something I can only attribute to computer-generated imagery and printing techniques.

Cadbury aside, another example of all of this is Tetley Tea. I think they made a good move on bringing back the tea folk as the brand desperately needed an injection of colour after becoming utterly dull and, consequently, forgettable in recent years. However, I cannot understand for the life of me why they persist with that horrible plastic packaging of theirs. The menthol-looking design makes me think I should be boiling up a cup to put my head over to help my sinuses not to dunk biscuits in to. The smart card box from days gone by was infinitely superior.

Quite honestly, I could spend all day listing products though there are a handful of exceptions which I do my best to support. One in my opinion is the mighty Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer which is still its original size and still wrapped in its beautiful paper wrapper. Another is the paper and foil combo that is the two-finger Kit Kat – remember the public outcry when Nestle tried to go down the same plastic wrapper route they so sadly did with the four-finger version. The likes of Cadbury should take serious note as they could learn a lot.

All the best,

Matthew

here is a link to the tunnocks caramel wafer.
enjoy it mate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQmYxCzLpRg


its so true but packaging can have a huge effest on people deciding if they want to try something.
especially if its a new product.

would have been terrible if the 2 finger kit kat had went down the plastic wrapper route.
why do they try to change something that works and has done for as long as i can remember.

if its not broken do not fix it.

between changing wrappers,changing the names of sweets of like marathon to snickers. example.
at least its still the same in terms of taste.
look what they did to the boost bar.

there is something classy about running your finger down the foil between the two fingers.
the sound as it splits.pure class.

[RetroAEROSMITH]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

I think one of the reasons foil had been phased out was it was easily torn in transit, the amont of stock being "written off" by shops must have been astronomical...plus these days the only people after chocolate with foil on are usually heroin or crack addicts - mainly milkybars and kitkats.
Most packaging has been sacrificed either for the environment or costs - I remember when a bounty used to have a slide of hard cardboard holding the 2 bits of bounty nice and straight, caramac used to have a nice gold foil covering it also, plus the deep dark yet shiny purple foil of a classic Dairy milk...we used to drag our nail down the length of the bit we wanted to snap off.

[matt]

Re:Things just ain't what they use to be!

Hi Darren,

Glad to see I am not the only one that thinks this wayJ You’re totally right about Milk Tray.

Simple material choices can have huge effects on how we perceive a product. Things like gold foil communicate a certain ‘specialness’ about a brand whereas plastic packaging reeks of cheapness and mass production to my mind. I also tack onto this issue the one of product graphics which all too often look overly synthetic – something I can only attribute to computer-generated imagery and printing techniques.

Cadbury aside, another example of all of this is Tetley Tea. I think they made a good move on bringing back the tea folk as the brand desperately needed an injection of colour after becoming utterly dull and, consequently, forgettable in recent years. However, I cannot understand for the life of me why they persist with that horrible plastic packaging of theirs. The menthol-looking design makes me think I should be boiling up a cup to put my head over to help my sinuses not to dunk biscuits in to. The smart card box from days gone by was infinitely superior.

Quite honestly, I could spend all day listing products though there are a handful of exceptions which I do my best to support. One in my opinion is the mighty Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer which is still its original size and still wrapped in its beautiful paper wrapper. Another is the paper and foil combo that is the two-finger Kit Kat – remember the public outcry when Nestle tried to go down the same plastic wrapper route they so sadly did with the four-finger version. The likes of Cadbury should take serious note as they could learn a lot.

All the best,

Matthew

[darren]

The term 'If it ain't broke dont fix it' springs to mind here!

We had some fabulous wrappers,packaging and brand names back in the day, so why change them?
Chocolates and Sweet have even shrunk. Its an outrage. Dont you agree?


Huggie74

Strange thing is though all these companies bragging about their high cocoa content such as Lindt...I dont like the chocolate. Its terrible. There is nothing better than the taste of cadburys and you really do know when its cadbury. Sad thing is now that cadbury is no longer British.
I find galaxy chocolate too sickly, Nestle chocolate to bland and almost gritty or smoky, Mars is too sugary,Lindt is vile, Kinder is too milky...Cadbury is just divine.

But you know what....I could really murder a Cabana right now

(posted by darren).... terrible that cadburys is no longer british.

i wonder how it will taste after it was bought by some american company.
i think it was cadburys who did.
tried lindt and i do not like it.

i love dark chocolate especially bournville like it more than cadburys.
like nestle as well.