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Butterfinger was invented by the Curtiss Candy Company of Chicago, Illinois in 1923.[1] The company held a public contest to choose the name of the candy. The name is a slang term used to describe a clumsy person, often in sporting events to describe an athlete who can't hold onto the ball. As an early publicity stunt and marketing ploy, the company dropped Butterfinger and Baby Ruth candy bars from airplanes in cities across the United States which helped increase its popularity. The Curtiss Candy Company was owned by Standard Brands Inc which merged with Nabisco in 1981 to become Nabisco Brands, Inc., and, in 1990, Nestlé bought Baby Ruth and Butterfinger from RJR Nabisco.

Two of the slogans currently used to advertise the candy bar are "Follow the Prophet" and "Break out of the ordinary!" Prior to these, Bart Simpson and other characters from Fox's The Simpsons appeared in numerous advertisements for the product from 1990 to 2001, with the slogans "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!", "Bite my Butterfinger!", and "Nothin' like a Butterfinger!" However, a Simpsons episode called "Sweets and Sour Marge" included a scene involving Butterfinger bars being unable to be burned, with Chief Wiggum saying "even the fire doesn't want them." Butterfinger subsequently dropped the Simpsons as a spokesperson.

On April 1, 2008, Nestlé launched an April Fool's Day initiative indicating that they had changed the name of the candy bar to "The Finger", citing consumer research that indicated that the original brand was "clumsy" and "awkward", complete with a fake Web site[2] promoting the change and featuring a video press release. When the joke is revealed, the entire website changes into a flash animation redirecting to the Butterfinger Comedy Network.

Butterfinger was withdrawn from the German market due to consumer rejection when it was one of the first products to be labeled as containing genetically modified ingredients from corn.[3][4]

In recent years, Butterfinger bars have appeared in the United States that are printed with both English and Spanish language on the wrappers.

In 2009, a new ad for Butterfinger was made that was a throwback to The Simpsons ads for Butterfinger.

Also, in recent years, in India, Butterfinger ads have aired, featuring actor (and former National Bingo Night commissioner) Sunil Narkar.