# Bazooka Joe Marketing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722 "2023-05-08T00:39:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/21 "2023-05-08T15:04:36Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > When I was a kid, I remember being excited by the figurines that came with boxes of Red Rose tea. Oh man, I had completely forgotten about those, but my mom used to buy that tea, 70s era. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/22 "2023-05-08T15:20:59Z")
According to the CBC article, Bazooka bubble gum was 1 penny per piece in 1954. I am almost positive I could still buy it for a penny in the late 80s/early 90s. Does that sound right or am I confusing a penny with a nickel? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/23 "2023-05-08T15:27:47Z")
I think it was two cents in the '70s, when I was a buyer. I collected enough comics to get a few things, including a round Bazooka Joe kazoo. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/24 "2023-05-08T15:55:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > As an aside, the guy with a patch is Patch. Unless it’s Stefano DiMera inhabiting Patch’s body. 😜 Which caused “Patch” and Kayla to get a divorce. But the real Patch and Kayla have remarried for the 4th time. Hmm, I wonder what the case law is on divorcing someone pretending to be someone else. Is the divorce valid? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/25 "2023-05-08T16:02:57Z")
In the '50s and '60s, several brands of laundry detergent included free towels in every package. [![](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7aa79013c10ec08914043af05f37f39a-lq) ](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7aa79013c10ec08914043af05f37f39a-lq) [![](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5e1d025243b2cf187eecd24fee4757c3-lq) ](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-5e1d025243b2cf187eecd24fee4757c3-lq) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/26 "2023-05-08T16:30:57Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I am almost positive I could still buy it for a penny in the late 80s/early 90s. Does that sound right or am I confusing a penny with a nickel? We’re probably about the same age and I think Bazookas were 5 or 7 cents. Blow Pops were a quarter. The local hobby shop (scale models, train sets, radio controlled cars) had a small candy shelf with some harder to find candies like Lemonheads and Lik-m-aids for 15 cents. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/27 "2023-05-08T16:33:41Z")
It was the last penny candy that I can remember. We would pool our change to buy candy, and whatever number of cents were left after the chocolate and licorice went to buying Bazooka Joe gum. The comic was a nice little bonus, helped pass the time while you softened up the gum, which could take a while because the gum hardened with age. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/28 "2023-05-08T16:51:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It’s been a while. Part of my point is no one I know bought the gum for the comic, though everyone read the comic. Baseball card purchasers buy it more for the card, though that oddly hard and tasteless gum was appreciated. I did not realize the card was once the sideshow. I didn’t realize it was ever supposed to be the main thing. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/29 "2023-05-08T17:09:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I didn’t realize it was ever supposed to be the main thing. The gum wasn’t. But the cigarettes were. > **[A History Of Baseball Cards](https://allvintagecards.com/history-baseball-cards/)** > > This guide looks at the history of baseball cards, starting from cabinet cards issued in the mid 19th century up until the junk era of the 1980's. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/30 "2023-05-08T18:00:27Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it was two cents in the '70s, when I was a buyer. I collected enough comics to get a few things, including a round Bazooka Joe kazoo. It was still a penny in the early '60s when I bought it. I got lots of stuff from them, including an album to put gum cards in, which I used to store my Mars Attacks cards > **[Mars Attacks Cards: The Ultimate Collector’s Guide - Old Sports Cards](https://www.oldsportscards.com/mars-attacks-cards/)** > > Looking to buy Mars Attacks cards? Find out which are the most important in the hobby and the best way to add some to your collection today! of which I had a complete set. Loved the Bazooka gum, hated the gum that came with baseball cards. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/31 "2023-05-08T18:07:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > hated the gum that came with baseball cards That stuff could be used as a throwing star if you cut it in the right shape. Dangerous! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/32 "2023-05-08T18:19:45Z")
I wish there was a scan of this online, but I remember Nation Lampoon did Bazooka Joe Cartoons from Around the World. Ron Barrett, renowned children’s book illustrator, did the artwork. According to this [source](https://www.marksverylarge.com/2010/04/05/214/), it came out in their October 1979 issue. One strip was from Uganda. Bazooka Joe was drawn like Idi Amin. He asks his Ugandanized friend Mort why the chicken crosses the road. Mort responds, “I don’t know Joe. Why?” Idi Joe angrily says “You do know! You’re lying!” and proceeds to beat the tar out of him. He then pulls Mort’s damaged body up and says “Now tell me the answer!” His assistant tells him he’s dead, and Idi Joe says in the last panel, “Darn! Now I’ll never know the answer!” There was another one from Communist China which had Asian versions of Joe and Mort singing the virtues of Marxism, and that’s all I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/33 "2023-05-08T18:32:36Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > According to this [source](https://www.marksverylarge.com/2010/04/05/214/), it came out in their October 1979 issue. > **[National Lampoon 1979 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/LampoonArchive1979/1979_10/page/n9/mode/1up)** > > The 1979 monthly releases of National Lampoon ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/34 "2023-05-08T19:08:27Z")
I highly recommend Inferno Joe. It’s Bazooka Joe comics meets Dante’s Inferno. I first read it in Raw, but it’s available online. I just suck at Googling and am pressed for time. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/35 "2023-05-08T19:17:55Z")
[1989: Inferno Joe |](https://corvusfugit.com/2019/02/28/1989-inferno-joe/) found it ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/36 "2023-05-08T21:00:34Z")
How the hell did you find that? Amazing! ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/37 "2023-05-08T21:10:59Z")
On page 19, there’s a Pioneer ad that calls something an eargasm, in case anyone thought that was a new term (I did). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/38 "2023-05-08T21:15:29Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > How the hell did you find that? First I googled to find the issue it was in (because I didn’t notice you had already mentioned the correct issue) and then [archive.org](http://archive.org) was the first place I looked to find that issue because that’s the kind of thing they tend to have. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/39 "2023-05-08T21:21:46Z")
It was nice to have a quick success because it came after a failure to find an on-line copy of Astonishing #19. I wanted to see a certain story, but only ever found [one page](https://www.firstcomicsnews.com/comic-book-cats-number-143-astonishing-19/). (It was a kind of suprising failure, since vast numbers of older comics are findable, licitly or not.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722/40 "2023-05-08T23:23:22Z")
In Canada, Bazooka came in different forms. In the seventies, little squares of gum cost a penny, then later two. But Bazooka also came as an extended log with a bigger comic, and those cost a nickel, then a dime. They came out with a package of soft gum with no comic and those did not last long. Then they came out with bigger squares for a nickel that came in three flavours and did have the comic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bazooka-joe-marketing/983722.md?page=3)