05/30/2003 Entry: "It's... AMAZIN' Fruit."

It's Amazin' Fruit! It's Amazin' Fruit! It's our Amazin' Fruit! It's...Amaaaazin' Fruit. Don't think anyone was expecting to read 2,000 words about Hershey's mid-90s gummi bear candies, but there it is and here we are. These fruit-flavored beasts changed the scope of their edible species, and the article tells why. It's... AMAZIN' Fruit. Many pics and a commercial download are included, enjoy.

Still getting tons of Photog Art -- remember, the contest ends tomorrow. Unless I've already said that it ends on Sunday, in which case, it ends Sunday. Either way, don't dilly daddle. A reader sent in some info about Amazin' Fruit, so click 'more' to read it...

Jeremy writes: "I enjoyed your Amazin' Fruit article, however, you clearly forgot one crucial part of their history.  Back when they first came out, there was a McDonald's tie-in, just like there is for everything else that has EVER EXISTED.  I'm surprised you didn't mention this, seeing as how you've devoted entire articles to transforming plastic McDonald's food-like items, which clearly inspired the ungodly good Aqua Teen Hunger Force... But I digress.  Anyway, back in 1992 or 1993, whenever these little monsters came out, I was about ten at the time.  There was a commercial that McDonald's had been running for awhile in conjunction with Nickelodeon and Hersheys.  I don't remember the commercial very well, but it involved detailing a promotion where any person/child/pet/vegetable/mineral could go into a McDonald's and say "Nick sent me!", the kind and competent (ahaahahahaha) employee running the register would give you a sample bag of the little stomach destroying terror bears(TM).  I distinctly remember stealing a few dollars from my Mother's purse at the time, walking down the street, and ordering a six piece of tumor nuggets and some fries.  After I was done with my order, I got all hush-hush and whispered "Oh yeah, Nick sent me."  I think I was pretending to be a secret agent or some shit, whatever it was, it didn't work all that well, because the employee goon had no idea what I meant.    So, I whispered it again, in my best debonair Bond voice... Which cracked several times, because puberty sucks. Obviously I didn't win the Oscar that year for acting.  Regardless, the idiot still had no idea what I was asking for, so I calmly yelled "LOOK AT THE SIGN!" and pointed to a giant banner behind his head that had a marquee of the bears imprinted upon it.  I'm pretty sure they spit in my food, but getting that sample bag tasted all the sweeter after the work I went through to get it."

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 05/30/2003 06:04 PM EST

these damn thing where good i remember back in school me an my friend would have Gummi Bear fights an now those were the day Big hair,Gummi Bears in People Big hair.thanks for helping me recall that matt

Chestnuts roasted by CheebaSmoker @ 05/30/2003 06:14 PM EST

Aaaah! I remember the Amaaaaaaaazin' Fruit song, and I also remember feeling important going up to the counter all by myself to say "Nick sent me!" I also received a blank stare, if I recall correctly.
The original date stated was Sunday. I hope that stands, because I've been waiting for some weekend free-time to work on my entry.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 05/30/2003 06:38 PM EST

As soon as i saw the title, i had that song stuck in my head. Now i'm still singing it. Thanks matt.

Chestnuts roasted by Stacey @ 05/30/2003 07:08 PM EST

Amazin' Fruit was the best Gummi Bears ever, come back Amazin' Fruit I miss you.

Chestnuts roasted by Patrick N @ 05/30/2003 07:16 PM EST

Who the FUDGE is this Nick bastard?! And why would he send a bunch of adolescents to McDonalds in the first place?! He was obviously using thwe Amazing Fruit's magicals powers to make lifeless objects sing and dance to make kids go to McDonalds to eat their way out of depression and into obesity.

Fudge you Nick.

Fudge you into oblivion.

Chestnuts roasted by Otaku Queen @ 05/30/2003 07:32 PM EST

I'm pretty sre Nick refers to Nickelodeon, who, as Jeremy wrote, had a deal with Hershey and McDonalds at the time.

Chestnuts roasted by MG @ 05/30/2003 07:58 PM EST

I figured out Matt's big surprise! In honor of our newspapers accepting X-E, Matt is going to do a state-wide arena tour of Delaware! Am I right? I hope I am!

Chestnuts roasted by Bansheex @ 05/30/2003 08:52 PM EST

God, I LOVED those shitty things. I was 7 when they came out, perfect timing for fruity goodness. Amazin Fruit rules!! Without gummy bears, I have to rely on chewing rubber breast-milk machines...

Chestnuts roasted by Prezkot @ 05/30/2003 08:54 PM EST

Oh man, I remember these things. When my parents went to the store, they would always get me Starbursts and my Brother these Gummy Bears. I loved Starbursts, but lusted after the forbidden fruit that my brother had. So I asked for some, and got half way through the bag before I realized that I should have gone with the starbursts. Gummi Bears are better as an occational treat, but starbursts are eternal.

Chestnuts roasted by Paul @ 05/30/2003 09:37 PM EST

Those bears scared the hell outta me, might be why I don't like gummi snacks to this day...

Chestnuts roasted by Black Zarak @ 05/30/2003 10:54 PM EST

Not to be negative, but if these dumb bears were such a triumph, why don't they make them anymore?

Chestnuts roasted by i was a lion @ 05/31/2003 12:05 AM EST

They were sort of capitalizing on the established gummi craze of their time period, which I know sounds like a stupid made-up thing to say -- but I've watched a string of about four hours worth of commercials from '90-'94 and the clear theme in the candy commercials was gummi gummi GUMMI. (later in the decade, the fad died out and was mostly replaced by everything flavored (and colored, *especially* colored) like blue raspberry.

Amazin' Fruit were more of a success in that Hershey's was able to get top dollar candy retail for something that had forever been sold dirt closeout cheap.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 05/31/2003 12:29 AM EST

As "Jeremy" does recall that tie-in I too went to the McDonnalds and so did my neighbor I just got the candy my neighbor who thought she was better than me thought I was cheap becasue I only got the candy and she got a meal. I really liked the commercial. I agree with matt they do/did have that distinct flavor. I while after trying the original flavor I got my aunt to buy me the tropical flavor in the big bag. the superfruits were good too had a Muppet Treasure island promo thing going on too. When the super fruits came out they re-realsed the original commercial but with a slower different song. Where I live in Cail you can still find that candy, but I'm not sure how old it is. I haven't eaten a bag since Jr. high. I saw some for sale at the college I go to. i have also seen some for sale at local liquor stores, but like easy video they too have old candy.

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 05/31/2003 01:39 AM EST

man i don't know if it's way different down here or what (i'm in dallas) but gummi is everywhere!

and it's not cheap either. personally my favorite are gummi worms by 'black forest', a regular sized bag is about $1.50.

there's also now & later gummis, lifesaver gummis, sweettarts sour gummis, pretty much gummi of every popular candy.

the biggest thing right now is the sour gummi's tho. i do see oversized bags of gummis for cheap sometimes, like an enormous bag for a dollar (by a company like 'hi-top' which markets cheap food), but once you actually buy and taste them u see why they're so cheap, they taste nothin like the more expensive brands.

Chestnuts roasted by photocdclub.com @ 05/31/2003 03:18 AM EST

^ now & later gummi = jolly rancher gummis, and it's 'trolli' that's the current gummi king, no longer black forest.

haven't had any in a while cuz of a freakin low carb diet i'm on for the next month or two, damn gummi withdrawal is setting in.

Chestnuts roasted by photocdclub.com @ 05/31/2003 05:11 AM EST

ok no more gummi info i promise but it's late and hell is hot.

here's a gummi pizza: http://www.candywarehouse.com/gumpiz24box.html

and a gummi hamburger: http://store4.yimg.com/I/candywarehouse_1742_24165083

kinda funny cuz at tha bottom of tha site it mentions fathers day is comin up, as if you'd give ur dad gummi hamburgers

Chestnuts roasted by photocdclub.com @ 05/31/2003 05:15 AM EST

I work at a pharmacy and we have gummi junk EVERYWHERE!!! personally I'm terribly addicted to the Haribo frog gummis. Haribo also makes bears and worms but nothign can compare to the sweet sweet taste of frogs.....
and I've said too much

Chestnuts roasted by tryptophan36 @ 05/31/2003 12:14 PM EST

I remember amazin' fruit, but I'm sure I had the tropical more than the regular.

You see, the thing is, my cousin married the grandson of the guy that started Black Forest. This german basically *invented* gummi. Or he stole it from a Polish POW. I wouldn't be suprised.

So, my family has this wierd allegiance with everything Black Forest. Which create the bar none toughest least gummi of all gummis.

Sigh.

Chestnuts roasted by Ed Franklin @ 05/31/2003 01:13 PM EST

In high school my German teacher told me this nightmare story about going to the original Gummi Bear factory over in Germany. Turns out the Gummis (the ones over there at least) are made of gelatin (no duh), which is produced from...rendered pig heads.

And I just found this site, which details the secret of Kosher gummis, which turn out to be not much better: http://www.freshangles.com/fastforward/bonbons/articles/22.html

Chestnuts roasted by Jeremy Hendersn @ 05/31/2003 02:07 PM EST

HARIBO FROGS ARE MY ETERNAL LOVE! every day for the 6 months I worked at the only place in town that sold them, I had a bag, if not two of the frogs. Alas they were my downfall, causing me to get written up for eating in front of the customers, showing me what an asshole of a boss I had, then quitting with that epifany. btw I love gummie, my wife thinks I'm crazy, but if it's gummie, I love it, I love it, I love it!

Chestnuts roasted by brandon @ 05/31/2003 02:11 PM EST

I was pretty certain that these still existed and sure enough today I was in the checkout line at the grocery store (not some little mom and pop place either, but a huge suburban food prison) and they had a box of them. Come to think of it I should have check other aisles, but I recalled seeing them often enough to being with. So, if nothing else they still exist in Kansas City. I don't think they're terribly old either... maybe it's some renegade batch or there's a huge warehouse filled with secret gummies hidden out here where no one will suspect it.

Chestnuts roasted by Belgand @ 05/31/2003 10:53 PM EST

Hey, remember Slime Slurpers -- those multi-colored gummi monsters from the eighties? I always felt bad about eating them because they seemed more like something you should collect. I even tried (disastrously) to preserve one in my refrigerator. What about Dr. Pepper gum? And Gatorade gum? The Whiplash figure from Masters of the Universe was the same color as Gatorade gum. I'll never know if this was a coincidence or not. Sigh.

Chestnuts roasted by Snake Plissken @ 06/01/2003 11:51 AM EST

Haribo rules. I just stockpiled the bears that I found while on vacation. The only place that I could find them was at a gas station near my work and they never reorder. Oh the horror!

Chestnuts roasted by Cyn @ 06/01/2003 12:47 PM EST

photocdclub.com, I can vouche for the Southern gummi thing. I'm in Nashville right now and at the Walgreens they have gummi EVERYTHING (so many brands I didn't even know existed until I moved here) up the wazoo. We still have Black Forest brand... I didn't know they were replaced??

The brands I can remember off the top of my head are Black Forest and Haribo.

Chestnuts roasted by Lynn @ 06/01/2003 04:14 PM EST

I've last seen Amazin' Fruit gummy bears about six months ago in my local Petro-Canada convenience store (I live in Montreal), although I can't find them right now (maybe it's being discontinued?).

Hey, there should be an homage to Bazooka gum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. A combination of chewing gum, cheezy comic strips and mail-order crap... what more can we ask for?

Chestnuts roasted by Lady Jaye @ 06/01/2003 04:45 PM EST

BTW, Matt, you said that the scary gummy bear is Pineapple Bear in the ad. However, it's Orange Bear who makes that pained expression awaiting revenge...

Chestnuts roasted by Lady Jaye @ 06/01/2003 04:47 PM EST

I think we still have Black Forest too, who knows what I was trying to say but I think it was that Black Forest used to be the most popular (best tasting) brand to get around here, but now that honor seems to go to 'Trolli', both brands are still available but Trolli is much easier to obtain, being the main brand sold at 7 11, Eckerd's, etc..

Chestnuts roasted by photocdclub.com @ 06/01/2003 10:05 PM EST

Demonic song...sprung straight from the loins of Satan himself.

Chestnuts roasted by Megamanfan @ 06/02/2003 03:19 AM EST

Is it just me or is that a
FETAL BEAR holding a strawberry?

Chestnuts roasted by Ohgodtherats @ 06/02/2003 03:55 AM EST

Pineapple Bear isn't Orange Bear -- he's just carrying one of Grape Bear's grapes. Bears bears.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/02/2003 11:33 AM EST

In the immortal words of Marge Simpson, "Stop saying gummi!" I love all things gummi, and I am still waiting for Matt to reveal his state-wide arena tour. We can watch him type up articles, eat disgusting things, and dye his hair different colors. I'm going to order my tickets right now!

Chestnuts roasted by Bansheex @ 06/02/2003 02:48 PM EST

Gatoraid gum ! That was the best ! It was really sour but the flavor lasted all of six seconds. How Bitner.

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 06/02/2003 03:58 PM EST

My local store still HAS BOXES of amazin' fruit gummi bears. I bought some of the little packages today (.65 a piece). The back is dated 1992, as Matt suggested. And as he told, the flavors really ARE different enough to tell blindfolded. Who knew 10 year old candy was tasty?

Chestnuts roasted by Casey @ 06/02/2003 04:54 PM EST

i like it when the bear does several air kicks

Chestnuts roasted by peter @ 06/03/2003 01:13 AM EST

That song has been stuck in my head for about a year and a half now (not thanks to Matt, but I'd nearly gotten rid of it). Thank you, Matt.*sarcasm*
Heh, but really, folks. I stole some out of my brother's candy bag just this last holloween, so I'm pretty sure the junk still gets sold in these-here parts.

Chestnuts roasted by trillian @ 06/09/2003 12:21 AM EST

I actually found some of these packages just maybe two days after reading this article. They were 44 cents a pack at this store called 'Freds'. They even had the tropical kind. They even had them in King Size, but they were twice the price, so I passed.

Chestnuts roasted by The Ponderer @ 06/10/2003 03:07 AM EST

I am an expert on gummy bears. Amazin fruit is the best I've tasted,I've loved it since I was 5 and I am 21 now and I still can't get enough. It's not too chewy and it is true to flavor.

Chestnuts roasted by Janelle @ 12/16/2003 10:44 PM EST