Treats

Any sweet story needs tasty extras. Here are some Trebor treats.

Retro TV ads

Go on. Take a fun trip down memory lane. And do come back – we’ll be adding more.

The famous Mr Soft TV ad from 1987, selling Trebor Softmints with a song sounding like The Cure. 'Mr Soft won't you tell me why the world in which you're living is so straaaange ... how come everything around you is so soft and re-arraaaanged.'

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Here's a brilliant slice of animated fun to promote Trebor's Refreshers - one of those sweets that literally fizzes in the mouth. Hence the glorious copyline - It's The Fizz That Gives You Whizz.

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American puppeteer Marc Weiner filmed a series of ads for Trebor Mighty Mints in 2000. Aside from the Preacher here, look out for Weiner as Superman, Napoleon, Caveman and Kung Fu. Known in the 1990s for his Nickelodeon show, Weiner had previously worked as a street performer with Robin Williams and as a writer on Saturday Night Live.

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Choose Your Trebor: Confessions. Fantastic storytelling in a fun, touching ad that bears repeated viewing. This 2015 TV spot from Trebor portrays a generational divide, an unbending father and a son who's summoned the bravery to confess a secret.

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Featuring the old jingle that everyone remembers, here's a fab 1964 ad for Trebor Mints. "Trebor Mints are a Minty Bit Stronger". But watch out for the filthy second line that wags would add (you'll have to google that one).

The balloon's sinking, but Stephen Fry is not worried. His smirk helped this 1984 TV ad for Trebor Extra Strong Mints to win an award. It was part of the You'll be Glad You Had an Extra Strong Mints campaign; look out for other versions on a train under attack and a submarine at war.

A Job for David

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Trebor produced this lovely film in 1957 to help young people consider working in a sweet factory. It’s a pleasure to watch today because it provides a surprisingly honest, and fun, insight into a world so different from our own.

Trebor on Facebook

The Trebor Quality Sweets facebook group is a great place to share memories of working at Trebor.

Saucy product names

Today’s supermarket shelves seem bland and prim when compared to the past.

These are all actual sweet names from the early twentieth century.

The shrinking product range

In 1936 Trebor sold 452 product lines. By 1988 this had shrunk to 111 lines. By 2012 there were only seven.

People still buy Trebor sweets. Lots of them. It’s just they have far fewer different products to choose from. Back in the Thirties you could spend hours deciding between Inky Dinks, Snooker Snax or Bo’sun Bars. Much of this variety had gone by the Eighties, but even then you could find Flutterbys, Woppa Chews or White Mice. Now we’re all too busy. We simply select gum or mints. Admittedly Trebor is now an adult brand, and a few of the old names still appear as niche products elsewhere. But back in the day, even adults had hundreds of sweets to consider.

Given the opportunity, most people would like more choice. Unfortunately, global food manufacturers have little interest in giving us that choice. It’s much easier for them to produce a handful of lines and spend their money promoting the overall brand. Yes, it’s gospel that the convenience of modern corporation-driven capitalism gives us a better life. But let your mind wander through these names of sweets from the Thirties. Think of the people who made them and the people who ate them – and ask yourself whether buying and eating sweets in those days wasn’t perhaps, in some ways, a bit more fun.

Download a PDF list of product lines from 1936, 1988 and 2012.