THEY were made to make your mouth water. Even though now called Starburst, many hardcore old-school consumers still call them Opal Fruits. We take a nostalgic look back at some of the advertising for Opal Fruits
Family getaways
The 1974 TV ad featured a family of four stuck in traffic. The two kids in the back of the car are jaded and bored but the mood changes to excitement when mum pulls out a bag of Opal Fruits. They become energised as they chewed on them and the traffic clears.
We have a similar scenario ten years later: a family of four are waiting for their luggage at an airport arrival lounge – they’re jaded and bored. Mum again saves the day by pulling out a packet of Opal Fruits and lifting the mood!
The chimp vote of approval
A 1998 television advert pre-warned of the name change. During the advert, a chimp was given three choices for the new name:
- Jungle drops
- Chimpey Chompies
- Starburst
The chimp enthusiastically chose starburst after clocking the security guard with a banana!
The aliens approve
Again, we were given the heads-up of the forthcoming name change – this time with the help of aliens! The three choices for the name change were:
- Lazerlicks
- Sodasuckits
- Starburst
The aliens bowed in approval for Starburst after clocking the green spiked-haired cleaner wearing headphones in the background.
Exit Opal Fruits – enter Starburst
After 28 years of making our mouths water, this was the end of the Opal Fruits name. When many of us see Starburst, we pull out the imaginary correction pen and replace with Opal Fruits. RIP Opal Fruits – 1960 – 1998.
Watch the videos below by clicking on the images
Enjoyed the post? A nostalgic collection of blogs featuring a fun and factual look back at British advertising, leisure and entertainment from the 70s and 80s are featured in the hardback book, Section N Underpass. Get the rundown here by clicking the image below:
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