Freeze’em & Eat’em – A Historical Sampler of Cool Confections

It’s May, and we are slowly working our way to the hot summer months.  And really, after an afternoon of frolicking outdoors, who doesn’t enjoy a fresh-from-the-fridge Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, or something similar?

Throwing candy bars in the freezer is something that when I first did it, or first heard about doing it, I thought it was a new invention.  I was wrong of course, and it turns out that candy bars and your freezer have been friends for a very long time.

M&M-Mars - "Freez 'em n Eat 'em!" letterhead - late 60's early 70's

As you can see, the M&M/Mars company marketed the idea of putting their candy bars in the freezer, likely as a way to extend sales through the hot summer months.   They weren’t the only ones.  It was not uncommon for candy bar manufacturers to highlight the benefits of chilled candy bars.  It may be hard to imagine these days, but only a few decades ago, it was much harder to transport and store chocolate bars for a good part of the year.  Now, it’s not so much a necessity as it is just a way to make special variation of a favorite treat.

I found this wrapper in the last couple of years, showing that M&M/Mars still appreciates the value of chilling a candy bar:

Milky Way - Try Me Chilled - candy wrapper - 2009

And just to keep the Milky Way theme, here’s a wrapper for an actual ice cream bar – these were sold in the shape of an actual Milky Way:

Dove International - Milky Way Dark Ice Cream Bar wrapper - 1992

Lest we forget that Europeans enjoy ice cream, here’s a wrapper for a Mars ice cream bar I picked up, along with a group of other recent Mars bar packaging:

Europe - Mars - Mars Ice Cream Bar wrapper - 2000's

Unlike the ice cream bars offered by the M&M/Mars company, other frozen treats have used candy bar names but been sold in traditional ice cream bar shapes.  Here’s a vintage wrapper that is a bit of a classic, and one that I remember enjoying as a kid:

Tomorrow Products - Nestle Crunch vanilla ice cream bar wrapper package - 1977

Here’s an in-store box from the late 80’s:

Nestle Crunch vanilla ice cream bars box - 1989

Heath is another candy bar that has long been a frozen isle staple:

Heath Toffee Ice Cream bars box image - 1970's 1980's

Tomorrow Products - Heath Toffee coated ice cream bar wrapper - 1970's

While Heath and Nestle Crunch frozen treats may be long-standing classics in the ice cream isle, here are a few that you may not remember.  These certainly came as surprises to me, and due to their obscure nature, I’ve found them to be especially appealing pieces of vintage confectionery packaging.

Annabelle's - Abba-Zaba ice cream bar wrapper - 1970's 1980's

That’s the only Abba-Zaba ice cream bar wrapper I’ve ever come across.   Similarly unusual are a pair of Tootsie Pop ice cream bar wrappers I have.  Tootsie Rolls and ice cream is not a combination that I think of right away, but I could see the appeal.  I’d assume that these were around for a short time, and possibly only on the West Coast, as I’ve only ever found these two examples – both of which came from California.

Tomorrow Products - Tootsie Roll Ice Pop orange - frozen treat wrapper - 1970's

Tomorrow Products - Tootsie Roll Ice Pop grape - frozen treat wrapper - 1970's

These days the ice cream section of the grocery store is full of great candy bar tie-ins.  I had wanted to show the packaging for one of my current favorites – the Reese’s Klondike Bar, but I couldn’t find the packaging in my files (it’s in there somewhere).  Needless to say, they are delicious.  So instead, I’ll show this earlier Reese’s ice cream treat from 1994:

Good Humor - Reese's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cups - box - 1994

Here’s a single-sell wrapper for one of the Good Humor Reese’s:

Good Humor - Reese's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cup - individual wrapper - 1994

As you can see, a candy collector can find a lot of fun in the frozen isle.

One last bit to show today, is a group of packaging that was actually the impetus of today’s piece.  On a recent trip to a Target store, I was surprised at the assortment of candy-related freeze pops.  Some of them a direct candy brand tie-ins, and others were a bit more loosely tied to the confectionery world.  I’ll round out today’s frosty article, with images of a few:

Just Born - Mike and Ike Freezer Pops box - 2012

Fla-Vor-Ice Fudge Pops - Hershey's - box - 2012

Jolly Rancher Freezer Pops box - 2012

WarHeads - extreme sour freezer pops box - 2012

Fla-Vor-Ice Candy Shoppe freeze pop box - 2011

One last bit of frozen candy fun.  A look at a vintage Charleston Chew wrapper, revealing that they’ve always valued time spent in the fridge.

Put a Charleston Chew in the refrigerator or freezer, take it out, then slam the bar on a table, shattering it into delicious bite-size pieces.  Hence the slogan printed on the wrapper, “Crack it up!”:

Charleston Chew - Chocolate - candy wrapper - 1970's

That’s everything for today.  Stop back by tomorrow for a little weekend movie tie-in.

About Jason Liebig

A New York City based writer, editor and sometimes actor. After spending much of the 1990′s in the comic book business helping tell the stories of Marvel Comics’ X-Men as series editor, he has since split his time between developing his own entertainment properties while still consulting and working on others. Having been described as “the Indiana Jones of lost and forgotten candy”, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted with New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and has also been a featured guest on Food Network’s Heavyweights, France’s M6 Capital, and New York’s TheActionRoom.com. My Google Profile+
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2 Responses to Freeze’em & Eat’em – A Historical Sampler of Cool Confections

  1. Phyllis Brown says:

    Have you ever came across a Doozie Bar. It was sold at Tastey Freezes in the 70s. It was a big cookie…flower shaped…with vanilla ice cream on top and dipped in chocolate and was on a stick.

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