Our Popular Culture

It seems to be some rule of candy that if you stick with one brand for long enough, they will do something stupid that will make you not like them. Maybe I am a little bit too harsh and judgmental, but it certainly seems to apply most of the time. M&Ms, of course, are the classic example. Do you remember what they looked like when you were growing up? There wasn’t any blue color. There were two shades of brown, a light brown and a dark brown. Although a description of the colors in a bag of M&Ms does not sound so appealing, the actual look of the whole bag together was quite attractive. They were quite distinctive from say, Skittles, or other similarly sized candies. When they added that atrocious blue and removed one of the browns, it was a blow to this chocolate lovers heart. I have never forgiven them for that.

As a matter of fact, lifesaver candies are the only ones that can do no wrong in my eye. I have been a fan of lifesaver candy for as long as I can remember. I love all kinds of Lifesavers. I love the butterscotch lifesaver candies with their rich, creamy flavor that is almost overwhelming. I love the classic lifesavers with their variety of different tastes. I even loved the tropical variety of lifesavers candies, although I know many people who can’t stand them. To me, they were all good, even the lime lifesavers!

And then they made them bigger and sold them by the bag! I love the Wintergreen. I was in candy heaven.

Of course, when they came out with lifesaver gummy candies, I was a little bit skeptical. Well, truth be told, more than a little bit skeptical. I thought they had finally come out with some kind of marketing gimmick that would fail miserably and ruin the candy forever. As a matter of fact, it was months before I would even try the new variety of lifesaver candies. I avoided them like the plague, and stopped buying lifesavers altogether. When I finally did try them, however, I was pleasantly surprised. They were good! I don’t like them as much as normal Lifesavers candy,  but they have their own thing going for them. They were less sticky than gummy bears, but they provided the same kind of enjoyment. Sometimes it is nice to have something gummy to chew on, and I felt that the new lifesaver candies fit the bill admirably. They will never be among my favorites,  but that doesn’t mean I won’t get a craving now and then.

Tempting Lifesaver Candies