Thursday, July 05, 2007





Packaging which should never be up-dated: Only the most media-brainwashed dolt could fail to be charmed by these classic Tunnocks biscuits box designs. From the original hand drawn lettering to the rosy-cheeked Caramel Wafer Biscuit laddy and the snowball chucking pair of Scottish bairns, all discerning consumers should be happily drawn into a nostalgic world similar to that of DC Thomson's Oor Wullie and The Broons. Tunnock's biscuits are the best - I hope one day to visit their famous factory shop in Uddingston...

7 comments:

Boring Being said...

Marvellous, aren't they? For years Bradford-based crispologists Seabrook had wonderfully vernacular packets, presumably designed by a family member who was good at art. When the rest of the world's crisp manufacturers went over to foil packaging, Seabrook stuck doggedly to cellophane - with "SEE WHAT YOU BUY!" shouting from the front and PLEASE AVOID STRONG LIGHT on the back. Both decent bits of advice for life, if you think about it. Until a couple of years back they had a loose interpretation of where to put inverted commas; "MORE" THAN A "SNACK" and 30 GRAMS "e". Alas, the modern world's caught up and they recently launched nationwide in - yes - foil packaging. The original design remains, albeit vestigially, and they've tidied up the apostrophes.

Boring Being said...

Ah - Oor Wullie, as drawn by Dudley D Watkins. Brings back memories of reading the Sunday Post when we used to visit my auntie in Scarborough.

John Bagnall said...

Seabrooks remain my favourite crisps, despite the update. I think they still do Canadian Ham flavour, which no other manufacturer has attempted.

Mind you, there's a crisp flavour I experienced only as a lad on holidays in Eire which was Tayto's KIPPER crisps. Boy, they were pungent!

Boring Being said...

Ah, as a Northerner I should have know that you'd be Seabrook fan.

My friend used to bring Tayto back from her visits to Ireland - they are actually made in a castle. I like the sound of the kipper ones, though our kitchen has never fully recovered from our visit to Craster.

John Bagnall said...

The last time I went to Craster I was disappointed to find the kipper smoking house closed due to a serious FIRE!

There is a very good boiled sweet shop there, though. The window jam-packed with jars...

Hurk said...

All the old shops i went in as a kid are gone, the hospital where i was born- now a housing estate, the comprehensive i went to- now a 'technology college'. It's only the Tunnucks caramel wafer that remains unchanged- in both product and packaging. Well done them. And well done John for an interesting blog infused with the same mustiness as your brilliant comics- and that's big praise coming from old nobody me!

John Bagnall said...

Hurk, I bow to you in gratefulness for your comments, because your blog on first looking is an absolute delight. Please keep in touch!