Author Topic: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!  (Read 5154 times)

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Offline Swiski

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Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« on: December 15, 2024, 09:08:07 AM »
By request, I am continuing the parody comparison to real products image gallery. Rather than add to the last thread, I started a new thread that focuses on Wacky Packages return in the 1980s. After that, a new thread for the 1990s, and a separate thread for ANS after that.

First up are the 4 new cereal parodies from the 1982 album stickers set.


« Last Edit: December 15, 2024, 09:10:16 AM by Swiski »

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2024, 09:25:24 AM »
thanks for starting this up!

Guess it never clicked for me that Whale-O's was Waffelos. A bit of a stretch for the name to make that joke.

I found this image online which seems a dead match for the Wacky


Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2024, 09:47:37 AM »
thanks for starting this up!

Guess it never clicked for me that Whale-O's was Waffelos. A bit of a stretch for the name to make that joke.

I found this image online which seems a dead match for the Wacky



Thanks for posting this better image! Through group participation in this thread, I can upgrade my personal image collection in the process.

Offline Lavirus

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2024, 10:07:07 AM »
Thanks, dude!

These were solid gags, Crookie Crisp is the best of the bunch.

Meanwhile, I remember loving Waffelos at the time, great flavor, must've had at least a few carcinogens in there. ;-)

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2024, 10:17:03 AM »
thanks for starting this up!

Guess it never clicked for me that Whale-O's was Waffelos. A bit of a stretch for the name to make that joke.

I found this image online which seems a dead match for the Wacky



I never realized that either.  ‘Whale-O’s’, what could that be?  I remember liking Waffelos at the time but never knew there was a blueberry counterpart.

Spoofing essentially the same product twice in the same series is one of those oddball things that happened on occasion in Wackys.  I’ve often wondered why Topps did two self-parodies in OS3; why use Foolball instead of making it a puzzle in another series?  Would have worked better than Big Baddy or Boozo which did not fill the space well. I suppose OS14 did something similar but Sugarmess was technically a repeat.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2024, 10:19:58 AM »
I'm wondering why they didn't utilize the 3 kids on the Dinky Donuts box for the Dinky Gonuts parody. There's extra room on top of the parody, so I'm wondering if the artist just ran out of time. Maybe they used this box?


« Last Edit: December 15, 2024, 10:22:00 AM by Swiski »

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2024, 10:42:47 AM »
life imitating art?

it seems like Cookie Crisp later leaned into the Crookie Crisp thief idea in place of the original wizard


Offline RawGoo

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #7 on: December 15, 2024, 10:44:13 AM »
Well, "Glazed Style" is so similar to "Crazed Style" that it makes me think that was the box version that was used for the parody.

Offline paulygsparodies

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2024, 11:00:29 AM »
About time, can't wait to see the 1985s.

Offline Joe G.

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #9 on: December 15, 2024, 11:08:18 AM »
Steve, thanks so much for continuing this super fun series! 
Yes it’s very questionable as to why Topps would allow multiple parodies of the same product in the same series.  Currently there aren’t a ton of restrictions on what can be parodied but the non-repeat rule is strictly enforced.  I had originally submitted ‘Hot Snails’ for ANS 2023 and although the gag was approved it ended up being pushed to ANS 2024 as Joe Simko’s ‘Rot Wheels’ had already been approved for that set. 

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #10 on: December 15, 2024, 09:31:09 PM »
life imitating art?

it seems like Cookie Crisp later leaned into the Crookie Crisp thief idea in place of the original wizard



That's amazing! The crook on the new box is very close to the Crook on the 1982 parody. Definitely there was some inspiration there.

Offline mikecho

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #11 on: December 16, 2024, 07:19:15 AM »
life imitating art?

it seems like Cookie Crisp later leaned into the Crookie Crisp thief idea in place of the original wizard


Btw, those two are the Cookie Crook and the Cookie Cop. Later, Chip the Cookie Hound was added as the Cookie Crook's pet dog, and he eventually became Chip the Cookie Wolf. The original character was Cookie Jarvis, a wizard who spoke in rhyme.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #12 on: December 16, 2024, 10:04:06 AM »
Btw, those two are the Cookie Crook and the Cookie Cop. Later, Chip the Cookie Hound was added as the Cookie Crook's pet dog, and he eventually became Chip the Cookie Wolf. The original character was Cookie Jarvis, a wizard who spoke in rhyme.

I'm surprised they didn't name him "Cookie Crookie" or just "Crookie"

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2024, 04:42:06 AM »
On to the 1985 Series titles.

For some reason, exact real product images are very difficult to find, compared to the original series. So anyone who has better images, feel free to share them, along with facts or other details regarding the parody or product. As much as I'm having a blast posting these, I'm more excited to see group participation. I'm going to try to post these weekly, if not sooner.

First on the checklist is TV Ghoul. Magazine parodies usually don't follow an exact cover to spoof, so this one is just OK. Posted is an image of the 1985 TV Guide Fall Preview cover. I also included an image of the Original Series 11 TV Garbage to show as a comparison, and they reused the "Newlydead Game" joke on the cover.

I actually would have loved to see a TP Guide parody (just the logo on the ANS9 Awful Apps set). Imagine the TV show listings on the cover...Crapper John MD, The Toilet Zone, Kung Poo, etc.


« Last Edit: December 17, 2024, 07:31:29 AM by Swiski »

Offline Corndog

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2024, 07:16:42 AM »
By request, I am continuing the parody comparison to real products image gallery. Rather than add to the last thread, I started a new thread that focuses on Wacky Packages return in the 1980s. After that, a new thread for the 1990s, and a separate thread for ANS after that.

I tried looking for, but can you post a link to your original thread for parody comparisons?

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #15 on: December 17, 2024, 07:28:20 AM »
I tried looking for, but can you post a link to your original thread for parody comparisons?

It all began here...
http://www.wackypackagesforum.com/index.php?topic=4739.0

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #16 on: December 20, 2024, 09:31:32 AM »
My favorite Christmas memories were awaiting to open up my toys from Santa. In the 60s and 70s, I asked for Lite-Brite, Etch-A-Sketch, Spirograph...and of course a Slinky to name a few.

So appropriately, the next comparison on the 1985 series checklist is Stinky, which spoofs Slinky. This is one of my favorites from the 1985 set. I like the rusty, tangled mess of metal in the parody. Reminds me of a few Slinkies we owned, which got messed up very similar to the parody art. I also provided an infographic about the history of the Slinky.



Offline JailOJohn

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #17 on: December 20, 2024, 03:16:53 PM »
“Its Slinky, its Slinky, for fun its a wonderful toy! Its Slinky! Its Slinky! Its fun for a girl and a boy!”

Offline paulygsparodies

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #18 on: December 20, 2024, 05:51:10 PM »
My favorite Christmas memories were awaiting to open up my toys from Santa. In the 60s and 70s, I asked for Lite-Brite, Etch-A-Sketch, Spirograph...and of course a Slinky to name a few.

So appropriately, the next comparison on the 1985 series checklist is Stinky, which spoofs Slinky. This is one of my favorites from the 1985 set. I like the rusty, tangled mess of metal in the parody. Reminds me of a few Slinkies we owned, which got messed up very similar to the parody art. I also provided an infographic about the history of the Slinky.



Go Slinky Go Art possibly done by Gary Hallgren

Offline mikecho

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #19 on: December 20, 2024, 07:24:07 PM »
“Its Slinky, its Slinky, for fun its a wonderful toy! Its Slinky! Its Slinky! Its fun for a girl and a boy!”
Oh yes, I remember that tagline very well.

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #20 on: December 26, 2024, 08:22:40 PM »
Burger Thing is next on the list, which spoofs the Burger King Whopper. I tried to locate an exact match of the burger container, but I'm thinking the artist took creative liberty at the time, combining the container with the brown paper bag.




This is the closest pic I have in my stash…



aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline paulygsparodies

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #21 on: December 27, 2024, 01:59:00 PM »
You skipped Mr. Pig tissue

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #22 on: December 28, 2024, 04:41:46 AM »
You skipped Mr. Pig tissue

Yikes! I must have followed an incorrect checklist. Better to use the official one.

Here is the Mr Big comparison. Not the clearest image, but it's a match from the TV commercial.



And here is a link to the commercial, which features Al Molinaro from Happy Days...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ReFgCx8q1s

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #23 on: December 28, 2024, 04:44:47 AM »
I'm trying to put these in the correct checklist order, so I deleted my original Burger Thing post and placed it after Mr. Big...

Burger Thing is next on the list, which spoofs the Burger King Whopper. I tried to locate an exact match of the burger container, but I'm thinking the artist took creative liberty at the time, combining the container with the brown paper bag.



Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #24 on: January 03, 2025, 05:55:42 AM »
Next up is National Retirer, an obvious parody of National Enquirer. Not much to say about this one. The parody spoofs the layout and design style of the paper as it looked in 1985. When searching for a decent and clear real product image, this one was the best, and I realized the date on the cover is my birthday.



I also found this National Enquirer TV commercial from 1985.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdU6yDqO0k4
« Last Edit: January 03, 2025, 01:41:39 PM by Swiski »

Offline Joe G.

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #25 on: January 03, 2025, 01:19:43 PM »
National Retirer is such an odd illustration.  This is the first all new set without Norm and it seems that Topp’s entire approach to the art changed.  Gone seems to be any airbrushed backgrounds or letraset lettering and it hardly feels painted.  I wonder if Ben Solomon’s Art Dept was no more and all the work was done by the freelance illustrator hired for the piece.  Does anyone have any idea who illustrated it?
« Last Edit: January 03, 2025, 02:35:53 PM by Joe G. »

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #26 on: January 07, 2025, 11:34:37 AM »
Next on the list is Loafing Cow Cheese, based on The Laughing Cow Cheese. The "laughing cow" mascot stayed pretty much the same since the 1920s, just updated and streamlined for the times.


« Last Edit: January 07, 2025, 11:42:20 AM by Swiski »

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #27 on: January 07, 2025, 12:17:08 PM »
Wow, the 1985 Wacky is spot on!

Offline vahsurfer

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #28 on: January 07, 2025, 03:40:27 PM »
I absolutely LOVED Laughing Cow Cheese as a kid!!

Richard
#StayWacky


Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #29 on: January 09, 2025, 11:53:45 AM »
Next up is Aqua-Flush, a parody of Aqua-Fresh toothpaste. Pretty much an exact match to the actual 1985 packaging.



Offline lucidjc

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #30 on: January 09, 2025, 02:46:25 PM »
Next up is Aqua-Flush, a parody of Aqua-Fresh toothpaste. Pretty much an exact match to the actual 1985 packaging.



One of my favs from the series.

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #31 on: January 10, 2025, 06:45:15 AM »
One of my favs from the series.

Same here!

Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #32 on: January 14, 2025, 04:27:55 AM »
Up next is Putritan Oil, a parody of Puritan Oil. I always loved parody artwork with objects floating in liquid. Plus the clothespin cap is a nice added touch.

It's a shame we don't have images of original artwork for some of these 1985 parodies. Lots of cool details got lost in the printing during those times, compared to digital printing quality today.

I just realized this is the 40 year anniversary of the 1985 series. So this was the perfect time to reinstate this thread.



Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #33 on: January 18, 2025, 06:25:16 AM »
Next on the checklist is Hottest Coal Cakes, a parody of Hostess Cupcakes. I also included the OS Hostage Cupcakes parody for comparison.



Offline Swiski

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Re: Parody Comparison to the Real Products - Into the 1980s!
« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2025, 09:26:31 AM »
Sadly I'm not getting group interaction on this thread. I will continue with comparison images for the sake of completing the task, but I won't go into extra details anymore. Not worth the extra effort since nobody cares.

Next is Reaganets compared to real-life Raisinets.