Bazooka Joe: Nostalgia is the driving force after 75 years

Unheard stories of the Bazooka brand and depicts its rise to become an iconic global candy brand.

The film, titled “Bazooka Bubble Gum Turns 75“, takes fans from the brand’s humble beginnings to the creation of the Bazooka Joe character and the comics, characters and prizes. Fans will be able to reminisce and explore how the brand has solidified its place in pop culture through a distinctive, one-of-a-kind flavor, unique name and its ability to transform an industry.

Bazooka Bubble Gum Turns 75, which is 16 minutes long, is set to premiere today, December 9th on YouTube. The short film is directed by Daniel Brea, of the award-winning indie short, American Hate and produced by Chris McKee, an award-winning producer of the HBO series, The Black List.

Die-hard Bazooka Comic fans will also have the opportunity to hear from Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize winner and world-renowned cartoonist. Spiegelman began his incredible career at Bazooka as a summer hire, where a number of his favorite cartoonists had worked. He shares his experience of being part of the trailblazing brand from the ground up and being inspired to create the comics by some of his own idols.

Additionally, the film sheds light on how meaningful the brand is to so many, such as toy maker and collector David Vonner, who discusses how he became a Bazooka Joe fanatic. Actor and TV personality Ming Chen, even shares why he “…might not be where I am right now without Bazooka Bubble Gum.”

“This short film is dedicated to our beloved fans, who have been so integral to Bazooka’s legacy since 1947,” said Rebecca Silberfarb, VP of Brand Marketing, at Bazooka Candy Brands. “We hope the heritage of Bazooka Bubble Gum shared in the film will remind fans why they continue to love the brand.”

The children of today — as well as the children of yesterday — open the red, white and blue package of gum, read the comic, and chew the gum until it’s soft enough to try to blow a bubble, she said. The gum’s original formula is the same, the packaging is similar to that of decades ago, and eyepatched Bazooka Joe and his gang are still making people groan with comics full of dad jokes and sometimes head-scratching fortunes — like “You may want to wash your old sneakers.”

Nostalgia is a huge sales driver in the confectionery space, most people who buy Bazooka are adults who enjoyed it years ago.

From a corporate standpoint, the company has been through a variety of changes. Bazooka was created by Topps, which also morphed into a well-known trading card company. Topps’ candy division became known as Bazooka Candy Brands in 2009. Through the years, it added brands including Ring Pop — its biggest seller — and Push Pop. Bazooka is actually one of the company’s smaller brands.