Ahh the 1970's, first Pop Rocks then came Space Dust and Cosmic Candy. I am sure there is a story out there as to why the name was changed perhaps it was a little to close to angel dust. Certainly the graphics on these packs seem pretty drug inspired.
23 comments:
I remember these very well. This was my childhood right here. And having that whole urban legend of the Life Cereal kid dying from drinking coke while eating pop rocks made it all the more sweeter.
Sandy Barrientos well i rember they used to do that they also did it with coke i hope they stop that
I remember this stuff. My friends and me used to have competitiosn to see who could get the most in their mouth at once. If you open and shut your mouth, the noise of the popping was amazing. Wish I could have recorded that noise.... :-) Crazy.
OK. Here goes. When we were working on Pop Rocks and Space Dust at Benton & Bowles (advertising agency for Pop Rocks) back in 1977, people at General Foods got freaked out about Space Dust being confused with Angel Dust which had just hit the streets. So I came up with Cosmic Candy. It's that simple. I was the account exec. We actually made some incredible tv commercials for Space Dust but they never aired. The stuff sold like crazy without it.
Wow! Thanks for the info Doug -- some very interesting comments on the ads, as that was the search that brought me here. I believe that I saw them at one point & now am trying to figure out how (I remember it being in a classroom environment for some reason). The main image that stays in my mind is of some kids riding their bikes & then encountering the Cosmic/ Space characters who were hovering above them in the sky, and I think the kids were then taken up into (a colorful version of) outer space.
Would be funny/ great to find out all these years later that I'd imagined the whole thing myself!
This brings back memories! Pop Rocks and Cosmic Candy came out when I was in junior high school, and it seemed as though everyone on campus had it. My mom was freaked out about it and didn't like for me to eat it. Of course, everyone had heard the rumor that it could expand in your stomach and kill you. Even at that age, I knew it wasn't true. But she refused to buy it for me - so I just got my "fix" at school. Ah, the good old days!
I miss Cosmic Candy and Space Dust. I wish they would bring it back. Pop Rocks are ok, but I loved the consistency of CC and SD much better.
I loved the watermelon Cosmic Candy the most. I remember the fizzling and popping sounds. My mother worked in a K and H drug store and brought me the posters for Cosmic Candy. I wish I still had them. They'd be worth something.
Jason, That does sound like the Space Dust commercial. So you weren't hallucinating. You may have been part of the testing of the commercial for kid appeal. Doug
I remember a commercial that DID air for Cosmic candy in 1978,79.
The commercial as I remember used to air after school when I was still in the 4th grade. I believe ice bird was another one that came on around the same time. There was two boys running through an open field, and then the sky grew dark as if a storm was moving in. then from outer space, Three head's appeared. One red,one purple, and one orange? I,m not exactly sure of their colors, but they were the cosmic candy head's. They circled the two boy's, and let them both try the three different flavors of Cosmic candy. Then they said something like "the taste is out of this world" and took off. Now it may not have been exactly like that, but I FOR SHORE remember that I did in fact SEE IT, and it WASN'T all just a cosmic dream because there was someone else who in a blog mentioned the same commercial. In fact, the last time I DID see it was about a year and a half ago on YouTube at a friend's house. I wish that I would have downloaded it then because it was shortly after pulled from the sight, and never found since. THANK YOU VERY MUCH YOU F#cking Tube!!!
If anyone knows where to find this commercial that Cosmically disappeared off YouTube,or has a better memory detail of it... Please post.
hey i found the commercial for space dust on you tube here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfcUj7ELvv8
I remember buying Space Dust before I ever heard of Pop Rocks. Space Dust was better by far.
My mother worked in an independent drug store and I used to own a Cosmic Candy poster which I was I still owned. I used to get Cosmic Candy a lot back in the late 1970's when this was very popular. I remember the watermelon one very well.
I wish there could be a remake of this wonderful candy. Negative publicity and rumors ruined this candy from continuing.
Maybe someone will re make this candy again with the same designs and everything!
My God. I can't believe I forgot about Space Dust! I was likely 6 or 7 years old. I have vivid memories of every time we went to the grocery store, I grabbed up every flavor and begged my parents to buy it. It's also funny how your childhood memories have a view that's closer to the floor. Everything seemed a lot bigger when we were small kids.
I first discovered it in '78 as "Cosmic Candy" and the convenience store clerk gave me the empty box with the cool graphics on it of a celestial moon face character. My brother threw it out a few yrs later. I wish I had it now, so I could sell it on ebay for big $$. I always thought pop rocks came after cosmic candy though, so this clears it all up. Mystery solved. I vaguely remember that commercial, and now youtube has several postings for the original cosmic and space dust commercials.
Ahhh, Hills was the greatest store EVER!!
You were part of this incredible candy !
Looking for poster ...know one for sale
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