A Dose of Ephemera – Page 2

Wacky Packages, Making Fun of American Products One Sticker at a Time

bustedfinger3 — photo by Christian Montone

For those who didn’t grow up in the 70s or early 80s, Wacky Packages might be lost on you. Because it was around that time that the satirical sticker series was at its popularity apex, and its sophomoric play on words was actually considered high comedy.

Originally released in 1967 by Topps, Wacky Packages bashed U.S. products, and were a thinly-veiled criticism of American advertising and consumerism. However, that wasn’t what made kids at the time collect these by the pack.

Rather, it was our familiarity with these everyday products and awesome illustration, mixed with gross-out humor. That’s also what made any flat surface a potential canvas for a Wacky Packages sticker collage.

From Footsie Rolls and Plastered Peanuts to Hostage Cupcakes and Raw Goo Spaghetti Sauce — no consumer product was safe from being mocked in sticker form.

Who remembers these and/or had a fridge covered in them?

[special thanks to Christian of Art Skool Damage for the photos]

Vintage Scratch and Sniff Stickers

Remember when you were finally able to stay inside the lines while coloring, or successfully execute a cursive ‘R’? And, do you remember the sense of accomplishment you had when you received a scratch and sniff sticker as a reward? Then, you probably also remember the soul-crushing disappointment of when the stickers ran out of smell.

But hey… You got to feel good about yourself for a few hours, and inhaled some synthetic pickles and pepperoni pizza in the process. Good work!

Remember these? And more stickers can be found at the Etsy store of StuckOnStickers.

Revisit Your Sugar-Addled Childhood with These Vintage Cereal Boxes

Was is it about vintage cereal boxes that gives us the warm and fuzzies? Perhaps it’s their ability to instantly remind us of a simpler time. A time when we were hooked on crunchy oat clusters and marbits, and our biggest concern of the day was what the prize at the bottom of the box would be.

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Pac-Man Pasta

During most of the 80’s, Pac-Man was omnipresent. Not only could the circular yellow pellet-eater be found in every arcade — remember those? — but product tie-ins to the video game had spiraled out of control. Evidenced by the unfortunate existence of Pac-Man Pasta.

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CHOW Kicks It Old School with The Last Kodachrome Christmas

chow_kodachrome_goose — Rustic Tavern by CHOW

CHOW recently presented a tribute to American cuisine past and antiquated mediums with The Last Kodachrome Christmas. The photo shoot is inspired by vintage food photography, and uses actual Kodachrome — a type of film long assumed extinct, but rather just in its late stage death throes.

Often associated with boring vacation slides and brilliantly oversaturated imagery, one might ask why CHOW would even use Kodachrome. Well, the answer can be summed up by a simple philosophy that we stick to here at Foodiggity… food ephemera kicks ass.

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