Monday, August 25, 2008

Obscurity Batch II

We all know about the peanut butter brand named for Barrie's eternal boy. Persoanlly I don't get it. What on earth does Peter Pan have to do with peanut butter anyway? I mean other than slight aliteration? Sunshine always told me that it made her happy as a child. And that it might lead a kid to discover the story. True. Or, that the recognition of the character is a marketing ploy. True. But, still...I just don't see how it ever came up. I wonder if Barrie had anything to do with it. In 1928 the creamy spread called E. K. Pond became renamed Peter Pan. That's nine years before Barrie died. So did he know about it? I confess I don't know. And I'm not inclined to look it up...I'd rather not find out.

However, there have been other products that attached themselves inexplicably to Pan. I've collected quite a few images regarding Peter over the years. And these don't even have alliteration going for them. I leave you to ponder the strange (including a vintage peanut butter ad):
Obscurity Batch I
Obscurity Batch III

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

See-- the peanut butter makes sense to me. And maybe it's just me. No, it's probably totally just me.

But here's my (il)logic... peanut butter (and its child, the PB&J) is an iconic child's food. Peter Pan peanut butter allows us, adults even, to link back to childhood through its delicious and dreamy (and now- salmonella free!) taste and texture.

I cannot defend salmon, talcum powder, or any of the others.