I remember when Big Red gum came out. It was not as big a deal as Big League Chew or Bubble Yum, but it was a still a big deal. You could buy a skinny little five pack, but everyone I knew bought the jumbo sized twenty pack that looked like a pack of cigarettes when you slipped it into your pocket. The gum wasn’t all that bad either. In fact, I’m pretty sure that it has been repacked as Flare Sugar free Gum, and I’m also pretty sure Big Red was not sugar free.
Matchbooks have been a big collectible for years. Every fine restaurant and lots of not so fine motels used to have their logo plastered on a book of matches. In the good old days, everyone and their kids smoked a couple of packs a day and needed as many free matches at they could get. I worked at a bar for a while and I would pick up a handful of matchbooks every night. I think I still have some around here somewhere.
Anyway, the new Flare Gum comes in what is essentially a matchbook and you pull the gum out the way you used to pull out a match. The only thing missing is the close before striking warning. The printed flame when the book is opened is kind of cute as well.
The gum is wrapped in bright red foil with shiny fives all over it.
I like the commercial that assumes everyone has a pack of Flare in their pocket and that you can keep your supply forever fresh by bumming two sticks off everyone you met. One you chew, the other you stash in your matchbook.
I was in middle school when Coast Soap first came out. The ad campaign for Coast was the Soap that Wakes you Up. The TV spots all featured tired looking people stepping into the show fumbling for a bar of Coast, which instantly revitalizes them and makes them skip to work. If your tried Coast, you discovered it was just a bar of soap. Not really surprising, but still a bit disappointing.
So the ads for Flare would have you believe that this bit of chewing gum is a cosmic experience. It’s good chewing gum, it tastes exactly like Big Red, and it does have a bitchen cool package. But it is not exactly a life altering experience.
