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Friday, August 22, 2014

From the Candy Aisle: Snik Snak

Product: Snik Snak
Company - M&M/Mars
Years - 1973 - Late 70's


Remember Christmas, back in the 80's, when you'd open presents from relatives who you only saw a few times a year? What did they get you? Chances are, like most of us, they bought what they thought boys my age liked: He-Man, GI Joes, Transformers........but there was a catch. They were going to spend as little on your gift as possible. So instead of Transformers, you got the cheap knockoff called "Convertors" (it's a real thing...look it up). Or "Action Force" instead of GI Joe.

And you smiled, and thanked them, as you were taught to do. Then, a week later, they were blown up by firecrackers in a battle with the REAL GI Joe/Transformers/He-Man.

Knock offs. Nobody likes them.

But enough about my disappointing holidays. Lets talk about food knockoffs.  Specifically, Lets talk about the Snik Snak.

Image by Jason Liebig - Check out his history of Snik Snak here.


Snik Snak was created in 1973 by M&M/Mars to go up against Hershey's wildly successful Kit Kat bar.  And by "created",  I mean directly ripped off from.

Seriously, it's the same thing. A series of waffers covered in chocolate.......even the freaking name is a rip off! I honestly have no idea how Hershey didn't file a lawsuit against them.
I'm equally surprised that it lasted for at least 5 years on the market.
There is nothing original about this.
Oh, sure, it's 6 smaller sticks instead of 4 larger ones. Whoop-de-do.

Snik Snak Ad - 1973


These were a little before my time, so thankfully I didn't have to suffer through the crushing disappointment of getting one of these from a parent for a snack, or worse yet, on Halloween in my basket.

I guess there's a reason Kit Kats are still around today and Snik Snaks aren't.

It's probably the same reason I don't really talk to my uncle Sal anymore, either. I'm sure he had a good reason for getting me the "Treasures of the Temple Warriors" action figures instead of the He-Man toy I wanted back in 86.

17 comments:

  1. That Snik-Snak ad. "Coffee break ... After-School Break ... Late Late Show Break [etc.]"

    Oh, give me a break! You're fooling no-one!

    Now, if they were called Snicker-Snacks, the niche market of D&D players would order them off ThinkGeek by the caseload just for the fun of having vorpal candy (removes opponent's head on a crit success!)

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  2. Wow! That is one horrible action figure. He needs an M-80 strapped to his back!

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  3. What ever happened to that Nestle candy called, Choco-lite? That was a favorite growing up.

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    Replies
    1. Cool man, thanks! I haven't thought of that bar in over 30 years!

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    2. Me either! They were tasty. Remember Marathon bars and their fierce representative Marathon Jon?

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  4. But I preferred Snik Snaks to Kit Kats because the chocolate was lighter and sweeter than that used for Kit Kats.

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  5. But I preferred Snik Snaks to Kit Kats because the chocolate was lighter and sweeter than that used for Kit Kats.

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    Replies
    1. I agree. I thought the Snik Snak had more of a hazelnut taste as well.

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    2. I MOST definitely preferred Snik Snak over the inferior Hershey's Kit Kat chocolate. Poor quality sometimes stands the test of time.
      Perect example is McDonalds. They have the world's worst hamburgers!!! I will never believe they are made of beef.

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    3. Loved the snik snak better than kit kat

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  6. Snik Snaks came out WAY before Kit Kats and was a Nestle product who has far superior chocolate than Hershey....

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    Replies
    1. Kit Kat came out in the 30's
      Snick snack in the 70s

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    2. Actually this candy bar was a refig from the "Sprint" bar -- before kit kat even. I loved them in the 60's!

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  7. Action force was just renamed G.I. Joe in the U.K. Because they don't have G.I.s.

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  8. I'm pretty sure Hershey DID sue M&M/Mars over "Snik-Snak." According to an entry on another food nostalgia site (I won't plug it here.), they did, for copyright infringement.

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  9. One TV commercial from two years into Snik Snak's debut had the slogan "Take a Break, Take a Snik Snak." Given how much this product was a Kit Kat knockoff, one wonders what and where that slogan was likewise snatched from.

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