I was recently watching the new movie Twisters when I saw something fun: one of the characters was eating a bag of Fritos, specifically the Twisters-themed bag that we wrote about in July.
I believe this is the first instance that I have seen where a company releases a new product specifically for that movie, and then the product is in the movie itself—correct me if I'm wrong, but generally one will see product placement in a movie (like the RAM truck driven in Twisters, too, for example) but the product is not usually generated specifically for that film.
Which got me thinking: what candy and snack products out there are specifically associated with films or a film franchise?
The most recent example I can think of is the cute Stay-Puft Marshmallow men in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (and also Ghostbusters: Afterlife), as well as the original Ghostbusters movie (1984), of course, where a giant marshmallow man tries to destroy the city (sorry if a spoiler, but you've had 30 years to watch the movie!). Twinkies also plays a part in the Ghostbusters series, as one of the main characters has a fondness for them, and keeps them in his car's glove compartment—there's a fun Easter egg in Afterlife about this too, I believe.
A few years ago, someone on Reddit had the same question, and the responses were definitely interesting. Some of them include:
- Wonka bars, and Everlasting gobstoppers, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, plus its remakes
- Chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans from the Harry Potter franchise
- Reese's Pieces from E.T.
- Bruce Bogtrotter's chocolate cake, from Matilda
- Cannoli, from The Godfather ("Leave the gun, take the cannoli")
- Candy canes, candy corn, and syrup, from Elf
- Lasagna from the Garfield movies (including the new 2024 one)
- Apple pie from American Pie
- The "Royale with Cheese" (cheeseburger) from Pulp Fiction
What other snacks or candies do you associate with certain movies or movie franchises? Feel free to email me with your thoughts.
