Newtons (cookie)
Newtons are a Nabisco trademarked version of the ancient fig roll pastry filled with fig paste. Their unusual shape is a characteristic that has been adopted by many competitors including generic fig bars sold in many markets.
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[edit] Brand History
Until the late 19th century, many physicians believed that most illnesses were related to digestion problems,[citation needed] and recommended a daily intake of biscuits and fruit. Fig rolls were the ideal solution to this advice, although they remained a locally-produced and handmade product.
A Philadelphia baker and fig-lover Charles Roser in 1891 invented and then patented a machine which inserted fig paste into a cake-like dough, that was pastry-like, with a characteristic chewiness.[1] Cambridgeport, Massachusetts-based Kennedy Biscuit Company purchased the Roser recipe[2] and started mass production. The first Fig Newtons were baked at the F. A. Kennedy Steam Bakery in 1891.[3] The product was named "Newtons" after the local town of Newton, Massachusetts.[4]
The Kennedy Biscuit Company had recently become associated with the New York Biscuit Company, and after the companies' merger to form Nabisco, the fig rolls were trademarked as "Fig Newtons."[5]
[edit] Varieties
As of 2012, in addition to the original fig filling, Nabisco also makes several varieties of the Newton, including strawberry, apple, raspberry, and mixed berry.[6][7] The Fig Newton also comes in a 100% whole grain variety and a fat-free variety.[7] Fig Newton Minis have also been introduced.[7] The fig bar is the company's third best-selling product, with sales of more than a billion bars a year.[citation needed] In 2011 a crisp version, Newtons Fruit Thins, was introduced in the United States after being successfully marketed by Kraft in Canada as Lifestyle Selections, a variety of Peek Freans.[6]
[edit] Advertising
In the 1939 animated Mickey Mouse short "Mickey's Surprise Party", Mickey gives Minnie many Nabisco products, one of which is Fig Newtons. Mickey claims that they are his favorite.
In the 1950s, for Saturday morning television, advertisements featured a cowboy singing, "Yer darn tootin', I like Fig Newtons."
In the 1961 version of the film The Parent Trap, Susan offers Fig Newtons to her sister while they are locked up together in the cabin.
In the 1970s, Nabisco ran an advertising campaign for the Fig Newton. The commercials featured actor James (Jimmy) Harder dressed like a fig. At the conclusion of the song, he struck the "Fig Newton Pose", leaning forward and balancing on his left foot, with arms spread and right leg raised behind him. In "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street", Cookie Monster says the name of this brand before he eats the whole typewriter.
When Grape Newtons were introduced in the wake of Cherry, Blueberry, and Apple (which came several years earlier), a chimpanzee appeared on the commercial, and the song "Yes, We Have No Bananas" played to the chimp's consternation.
American advertisements have most frequently featured a narrator with a British accent and other European themes, presenting the pastry as an elegant, sophisticated "adult" sweet that would appeal to the upper classes, rather than as a kiddie lunchbox snack. In the 1980s, Nabisco again produced the popular advertising slogan "A cookie is just a cookie, but a Newton is fruit and cake."
In 2006, the brand's push was centered on the claim that a Fig Newton contained more fruit than a Nutri-Grain bar.
In 2007, Nabisco used the slogan "The cookie that thinks it's a fruit" to advertise Fig Newtons. The packaging of Newtons describes the product as "Fruit Chewy Cookies".
$14.8 million was spent advertising Newtons in 2011. Advertisements are generally based on nostalgia and directed to baby boomers rather than children.[6]
[edit] Footnotes and references
- ^ Yvan Lemoine (16 December 2010). FoodFest 365!: The Officially Fun Food Holiday Cookbook. Adams Media. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-1-4405-0619-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=YynYbgHZMmAC&pg=PA12. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ Andrew F. Smith (2004). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America: A-J. Oxford University Press. p. 319. http://books.google.com/books?id=jD8OAQAAMAAJ. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ Evan Morris (2 November 2004). From Altoids to Zima: the surprising stories behind 125 brand names. Simon and Schuster. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-7432-5797-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=9TeOf3BcOJIC&pg=PA35. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ Don Voorhees (2004). Why do donuts have holes?: fascinating facts about what we eat and drink. MJF Books. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-56731-734-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=G7mazjMhhyoC. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ A machine invented in 1891 made the mass production of Fig Newtons possible.
- ^ a b c Andrew Adam Newman (April 30, 2012). "Reminders That a Cookie Goes Beyond the Fig". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/business/media/the-newtons-cookie-goes-beyond-the-fig.html. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Official Fig Newton product listing with nutritional information". Nabiscoworld.com. http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/brandlist.aspx?SiteId=1&CatalogType=1&BrandKey=newtons&BrandLink=/newtons/&BrandId=75&PageNo=1. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
