An Evel Partnership to Chuckle About
by Laurnie Wilson
Evel Knievel has been a household name for decades. Chances are, you grew up talking about his crazy death-defying stunts. Or maybe you became notorious in your family for even trying a few of your own Evel Knievel-inspired moves around the house. Whatever the case, you probably think you know just about all there is to know about this man of extreme danger. But think again! In this week’s Unwrapped, we’ll expose a sweet little collaboration that you may never have known about.
A Candy On The Edge
Everyone knows that Evel Knievel was a man with a knack for danger. But, believe it or not, one of his biggest sponsors was none other than the gummy treat, Chuckles!
That’s right, folks! The popular sugar-dusted jelly candy teamed up with Evel Knievel in 1974. They originally came on board as sponsors for his ultimately unsuccessful Snake River Canyon jump. And although the partnership brought lots of fame for the candy, it wasn’t as profitable for the daredevil.
A Sweet Sponsor
As part of their campaign to promote Evel Knievel’s stunts and bikes in 1974 and 1975, Chuckles spent millions of dollars on ads, featuring their high-flying man of the hour. Slogans from those years included, “Evel Knievel Goes For Chuckles!” and “Chuckles makes ’75 your leap year!” Clever, right?
And with all of the fame that Knievel had at the time, who wouldn’t want to enjoy a candy that he apparently loved? It seems like Chuckles made choosing their candy a pretty easy choice back then.
A Daring Gummy
As for Knievel, he sported a Chuckles logo on his helmet during the partnership. So I guess you could say that this candy has done some serious stunt work as well!
Bet you never knew your Chuckles had such an exciting past, eh? But it’s true! This goes to show you that you can’t judge a candy by how sweet and squishy it appears. You never know what it’s been up to.
Sources:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/60585948@N00/1216948441/in/photostream/
- https://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question111502.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuckles
- https://bulldogvintage.blogspot.com/2009/04/evel-knievel-for-chuckles-brand-candy.html
- https://mistertoast.blogspot.com/2007/08/1975-evel-knievel-chuckles-candy-ad.html
