Klondike bar

"Klondike" is a brand name for a dessert generally consisting of a vanilla ice cream square coated with a thin layer of chocolate-flavored coating. The first recorded advertisement for the Klondike was on February 5, 1922 in the Youngstown Vindicator (Butko 2001: 8) They are generally wrapped with a silver-colored wrapper, upon which the mascot for the brand, a polar bear, appears. In the UK, the generic name for this type of dessert is choc ice. Unlike many similar frozen treats, the Klondike bar does not have a stick, a point often touted in advertising.

The Klondike bar was created by the Isaly Dairy Company of Youngstown, Ohio in the early 1920s and named after the Klondike River of Alaska and Canada. Rights to the name were eventually sold to Good Humor-Breyers, part of Unilever. It is known for its jingle slogan "What would you do-o-o for a Klondike Bar?"

Varieties

Several types of Klondike bar have been sold:

• Six original Flavors in 1922 with chocolate coating (Butko 2001: 8)
  • Vanilla
  • Strawberry
  • Chocolate
  • Grape
  • Maple
  • Cherry
• Krunch bars (with crisped rice in coating)
• Heath bars (with Heath toffee in coating)
• York peppermint patty bars (with peppermint ice cream)
• Neapolitan bars (with neapolitan ice cream)
• Planters caramel and peanut bars (with nougat-flavored ice cream)
• Triple chocolate bars (with triple chocolate ice cream)
• Butterscotch bars (with vanilla ice cream)
• Caramel pretzel bars (with caramel coating)
• Cappuccino bars (with coffee-flavored ice cream)
• Chocolate bars (with chocolate ice cream)
• Hershey with almond bars (with Hershey chocolate and almonds)
• Whitehouse cherry (with cherry ice cream)
• Strawberry cheesecake bars (with swirls of strawberry syrup and pie crust)
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (with peanut butter cup pieces)
• Oreo (with "cookies and cream" ice cream) (USA only, though this same product exists in Canada, it is not under the Klondike brand)

Additionally, the following products have borne the Klondike name:

• Minis Snack Size Vanilla Ice Cream Bars
• Slim-a-Bear Premium Fudge Bar
• CarbSmart Ice Cream Bars
• CarbSmart Fudge Bars

Klondike ice cream was founded after the Eskimo Pie ice cream product. Eskimo Pie was the originator of the ice cream and chocolate bar. Eskimo Pie is currently owned by CoolBrands International, a Canadian based company.

Popular culture

The advertising campaign, with its slogan, "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" has been subject of much parody and many references in popular culture.

• In "I Never Met the Dead Man" on Family Guy, a commercial asks several questions. The announcer's last question is, "Would you...kill a man?" The man promptly shoots someone for a Klondike bar.

• The expression "What Would Jesus do for a Klondike Bar?", a parody to both the motto "What would Jesus do?" and the slogan "What would you do for a Klondike bar?", has become an internet meme. Several websites sell t-shirts with this expression, including Cafepress and T-Shirt Hell. YTMND also features clips and images based on it.

• Jeff Dunham, a ventriloquist, referenced the slogan using Achmed, The Dead Terrorist, with Jeff saying, "You did all this for a bunch of virgins?" and Achmed replying with, "Are you kidding me? I'd kill you for a Klondike Bar."

• Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report said on June 12, 2008, "It's summertime. And you know, once summertime rolls around---oh!, what I would not do for a Klondike bar."

• In the My Name Is Earl episode "Camdenites, Part 1" Earl's wife Billie makes Randy (Earl's brother) do a series of embarrassing tasks for a Klondike Bar. These included selling cookies dressed as a "Camden Lady Scout", and standing at the road side with a sign saying "Bet you can't hit me with your trash".

• During the summer of 2008 Klondike worked with Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone of The Lonely Island, who created a series of digital shorts in conjunction with the "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" national video contest. The contest challenged Americans to respond to the brand's iconic question by submitting videos for the chance to win a cash prize and a trip to meet The Lonely Island for a digital short consultation.

• In the Seinfeld episode The Kiss Hello, Jerry pretends to be looking for a Klondike Bar to prevent getting a "kiss hello".

See also

• Eskimo Pie
• Choc ice

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (November 2008)

• Butko, Brian. Klondikes, Chipped Ham, & Skyscraper Cones: The Story of Isaly's. Stackpole Books (July, 2001). ISBN 0-8117-2844-7

• COMPANY NEWS; Kraft Settlement By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 24, 1988 [1]

• AROUND THE NATION; Polar B'ar Link Sought In Death of Florida Man: AP Published: July 26, 1986 [2]

External links

• Official Klondike Bar homepage