Friday, June 03, 2005

Flashback Friday: Gumfighter

Most gum commercials are just about kids chewing the gum, maybe floating around like balloons. But back in the eighties, they made a western. Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum made a series of commercials featuring the Gum Fighter.

Set in a western town, other men would come and challenge the Gum Fighter (who was an almost exact double of John Wayne) to duels. They would stand in the main street and blow a bubble with their inferior brand of gum, and the Gum Fighter would blow a bubble with Hubba Bubba. Their bubbles would pop and the townpeople would recoil in horror. Would the Gum Fighter be defeated at last? No, because then the Gum Fighter would casually peel his gum off his face while his opponent ran off with gum all over his face. The Gum Fighter would turn to the camera and say his classic catchphrase: "Big bubbles, no troubles." So cool.

Of course, I ran out and bought Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum, but no one challenged me to a duel. Hubba Bubba did indeed peel off your face, but I also discovered that Hubba Bubba has more sugar than any other brand of gum. Heck, even cookies didn't have that much sugar. When I chewed it, I could actually crunch on the sugar crystals mixed in. I think at least one of my cavities can be blamed on Hubba Bubba.

TV Acres - Good overview of the Gum Fighter. Apparently, Hubba Bubba was wildly unpopular and discontinued for decades. The fact that I never noticed says something about the brand. The Gum Fighter, Don Collier, even has his own website.

2 comments:

Maurice Mitchell said...

Incredible. You hit the nerve again man.
The only one I remember was the one with 'Lockjaw'. "Looks like Lockjaw's got lockjaw!"
And of course the theme song: "Oooo Oooo Hubba-Bubba Bubble gummmmm!"
What a guy.

glomgold said...

I always used to like Hubba Bubba better than Bubbalicious. Until I realized I was chewing a big wad of sugar for hours on end.