"Monster Mania" Look-In Magazine November 10th 1990

Monster Munch Bike Kit Copetition Look-In August 31st 1991

The Monster Munch Raving Loony Party

This doesn’t refer directly to a piece of Monster Munch merchandise so think of this as an additional piece of Monster Munch trivia relating to my previous post about The ‘new’ Monster Munch Monsters from 1995- 2008 and their past. While researching into the life of David “Screaming Lord” Sutch  (1940 –1999)  the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party for another project (found here on my main site). I discovered this image in his book ‘As Sutch, the political manifesto of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party’. Lord Sutch can be seen campaigning with the Monster Munch Monsters! Unfortunately no information is given about the photo apart from a caption underneath that reads, “The 12-ton armoured personnel carrier approach, 1995 –The Monster Munch”. Wanting to know what his Lordship’s connection to the Monster Munch brand was I contacted Walker’s Crisps but unfortunately this yielded no results. Then the answer was eventually presented to me through former long-standing member of the party and now founder of the Eccentric Party of Great Britain Lord Toby Jug and John Tempest, David Sutch's PR Man and Campaigns Officer. It seems that back in 1995 (the year Walker’s re-branded Monster Munch and launched its 'new' monsters) Walker’s sponsored the Official Monster Raving party and the proviso was that the party’s name be changed to The Monster Munch Raving Loony Party for that year and that Lord Sutch himself stand as a candidate for the Perth and Kinross by-election in 1995. He did and he won 586 votes! (Coming in fourth behind the SNP, Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats). So there you have it, Monster Munch was a political party for one year and I am delighted to finally have the answer and I extend my sincere thanks to Lord Toby Jug and John Tempest for their help in clearing up this mystery for me. Naturally being associated with Screaming Lord Sutch I knew the answer would make perfect sense….

(Early) 1980’s Saucy Flavour Monster Munch packet /'Monster Facts & Figures’

My second favourite monster- blue monster graced the front of my second favourite flavour, saucy flavour! Just like the previous pink monster beef flavour packet this too has no sell by date or bar code placing it (roughly) at around the early 80’s but I know its older than the previous pack because the
‘Monster Facts & Figures’ located on the back of the beef pack was part of their‘ new series’ this one doesn’t say that ergo it’s one of the first runs… This ‘Monster Facts & Figures’ features the Gargon! We learn that ‘The Gargons were monstrous females with huge teeth and sharp claws. Legend has it that the most famous of them was called Medusa. Medusa had hissing snakes instead of hair. Her face was so horrible that no living thing could look at her without being turned to stone. If they’d had a bag or two of Monster Munch to concentrate on, no one would have ever considered looking at Medusa’.

Another interesting, educational curio from the past! Do you remember Monster Facts & Figures? Post a comment below and share your memories!

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

(Early) 1980’s Beef Flavoured Monster Munch packet /'Monster Facts & Figures’

Not only is this one of the oldest item in my Monster Munch collection but it is also the earliest memory I have of the brand itself. The ‘classic’ pink monster design on the front of the packet and absence of a sell by date and bar code confirms what I already know, that this is from the early 1980’s. I say confirmed because I fondly remember my mother picking me up after school and buying me Monster Munch and as I would eat “the biggest snacks that pennies could buy” I would read the ‘Monster Facts & Figures’ located on the back of packs. Here we find The Catoblepas! Apparently, “This is a wild beast with a very heavy head. In fact, it was so heavy it could hardly carry it, which was just as well for everyone around. Anyone who looked into its eyes fell dead on the spot. We do feel sorry for it in some ways though, it’s probably never seen a bag of Monster Munch.”

Monster Munch seldom alerted consumers to the potential dangers of its monsters, making this an interesting curio from the past.
Do you remember Monster Facts & Figures? Post a comment below and share your memories!

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Munch Tall Stories tape

This cassette has been covered in the past by my good friend Paul’s wonderful ‘The Cobwebbed Room’ blog, but I felt it was about time I added mine to this page (apologies for the lack of updates by the way). Although I have had this tape in my collection for some years I have little to no information on it, and being a stickler for the details I held off posting until the information could be obtained. Sadly I am still none the wiser as to the details regarding the actual promotion but I have been most fortunate in tracking down one of the gentleman response for the actual production of it Mr. Andrew Howell who very kindly took the time to share his memories with me.

Monster Munch Tall Stories was a music and story cassette featuring the adventures of the monster Munch monsters produced back in 1984 by Nabisco Brands Smiths Division promo and were created by the V Team, the "V" Team comprised of Simon Byrne, Andrew Howell and Roger Bechirian. Simon Byrne and Andrew Howell had varied music careers and were brought together by producer Roger Bechirian (The Undertones and Elvis Costello) Simon being the singer and lyricist and Andrew specialising in the writing of the music. The team had been working on Simon’s debut solo album Dream Crazy for Epic records in New York while Roger Bechirian formed a production company called Vinyltone. A friend of Simon was working at the advertising company, which handled the Smiths (crisps) account, and being a big fan of Dream Crazy she asked Simon if he would be interested in the Monster Munch tape. The team agreed (however they adopted the pseudonym "V" team for the project) and work began in November 1984 starting with the stories scripted by KLP. The songs were to be based on the story lines so Simon and Andrew set to work on writing the songs with Simon focusing on the lyrics and Andrew on the music. The demos were recorded at Andrew's studio in South East London and once finalised they were mastered at Ampro studios in Shepherds Bush with Roger as producer. Simon explained, “Right from the offset, we decided to make this a high quality project. Although it was mainly for children, it had to be good. We were able to approach the songs from a place of freedom and imagination without the pressure of major record label involvement and to this day remains one of the most enjoyable projects we've ever worked on. This was amplified by being asked to do the narration as well.”
The songs were influenced by the music of the day and a keen ear will detect the similarities between  Purple Safari and Visage's Fade to Grey. Fun was had creating characters and effects and as Simon pointed out, “Tall Stories was no thrown together affair. Like so many creative projects, a little piece of the creators exists within it” and the entire project was completed by December.

Track listing:
Side 1

[Theme]
The Monster's Bounce
Saving the day
Being Purple
A Song for Space
Missing on the Moon
The TV Film

Side 2
Tall Stories [Theme]
Bounce
Easier said than done
Purple Safari
La, La
Echo
TV Queen

After the release of Tall Stories Simon and Andrew went on to write Heart and Soul for the Monkees’s 1987 reunion album Pool It! Time marched on and Andrew now lives in Somerset and Simon in Canada but two years ago they started writing together again. With regards to Tall Stories sadly the master tapes no longer exist but Simon kept all his original lyric sheets and they can be seen on his site. Digitised version of the cassette has been uploaded as a mp3s to Oneplaceproject.com and links to them can also be found on his site. They have been incredibly popular offering great nostalgia for those that remembered them the first time around much to Simon delight who said he was pleased that people continue to enjoy the songs and stories once again, as that was what they had always wanted. Once again, my sincere thanks to Andrew for his time and the additional information on this marvellous tape be sure to check out the links to his work and either relive the past or discover Monster Munch Tall Stories for the first time, you will not regret it.

If you can provide any further information on the actual promotion itself, ether leave a comment below or e-mail direct arfon@arfon.net

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Munch Munchers Mug

On the back of the same Monster Munchers Magazine, next to the Monster Bank Offer was the opportunity for Monster Munch Munchers to win a Monster Munch Munchers Mug! "Win your very own Monster Muncher Mug! Every Monster Muncher has his or her very own membership number. It is printed on the label of your Monster envelope. Can you find your number in this table? The winning numbers must run upwards, downwards, sideways, straight line, and not skip a number. If you can find your special number then circle around it, complete the form below, and send your entry to the Monsters at the address shown above.” The mug has a ‘Made in Taiwan’ sticker on the bottom and is decorated with the Monster Munch Munchers logo and Monsterworld design.

© Arfon Jones 2015 All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Ceramic Monster Bank

The first issue of Monster Munchers Magazine promised super monster puzzles and offers on the back. One such offer was the Monster Bank Offer! The chance to own your very own Blue Monster Money bank! “All the monsters try hard to save their pennies. What could be nicer than saving up your pennies in a special Monster Bank? The Monsters are pleased to find that there is a bank modelled on their own Monstrous shape- plenty big enough to store all your pennies.”
Made by Wade manufacturers of porcelain and earthenware he stands at just under 7” in height and 4” across. This idea by Monster Munch was undoubtedly inspired by the success of the Nat West Pigs (also produced by Wade) by Natwest Bank in 1983. In their promotion they encouraged youngsters to save their pennies with them by opening a new account with a minimum of £5 they would be awarded the baby pig (called Woody) then after a lot of saving up they would acquire the entire family consisting of five pigs. Sadly only one Monster was produced in this promotion however, and they have become just as collectable with Wade collectors as Monster Munchers such as myself. Back in the day all a Monster Muncher had to do was, “Get the signature of a parent or guardian and send an £8 cheque or postal order made payable to the Monster Munchers to the monsters at the address shown above” 

 © Arfon Jones 2012 All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

The ‘new’ Monster Munch Monsters (1995- 2008)

In an interesting letter from Monster Munch (circa 1995) a potential Monster Munch club member is notified that “the monsters are going to have to close the club”. Having returned the membership fee and included some ‘spokey-dokeys’ and ‘spoke clackers’ to make up for the inconvenience the letter assured the ‘Monster Muncher’ that there where “lots of exciting things happening on Monster Munch this year – watch out for the new TV ads, loads of offers and a wicked promotion!”. A clue as to what was going to happen could be found at the bottom left of the letter, which brings me to another aspect of the Monster Munch brand history that I haven’t covered yet… namely the classic monster’s ‘retirement’ in 1995. Walkers took over production of Monster Munch in the mid 90’s relaunching with new flavours and monsters only to relaunch again in 2008 by bringing back the original ‘classic’ monsters replacing the replacement monsters…  Even though I am pleased to see the classic Monsters back where they rightfully belong this does leave me wondering how to catalogue the ‘other’ monster products that Walkers produced during their 13 year tenure. So I shall devote this post to the ‘new’ Monster Munch Monsters.

 The ‘new’ Monster Munch Monsters: Orange Monster for Pickled Onion, Blue Monster for Spaghetti Sauce, Pink Monster for Beef Burger and Red Monster for Flamin' Hot. Featured on this limited edition print signed by Ken Lidster.



The ‘TV ads’ that the letter mentioned were stop motion adverts featuring the new monsters directed by Ken Lidster and produced by Glenn Holberton of Loose Moose. Featuring the voice of Enn Reitel.
A second advert was produced for their first promotional offer Grippa Clippas! Grippa Clippas gripped onto whatever you wanted and could be found in lucky packs. There were 3 to collect, pink, blue, and orange.

A regular promotional item for Walkers during the 1990’s were Tazos, circular game disks given away in promotional packets.  They ranged from Star Wars to Looney Tunes and in 1996 Monster Munch produced their own set of 30 Monster Munch Tazos along with 3 Tazo tubes to store them.

And those were the ‘new’ Monster Munch Monsters, perhaps best remembered for their limited edition flavours such as Cheesy, Vanilla Ice Cream or the ones that turned your tong blue.  Everyone was happy when Walkers announced that they were bringing the classic monsters back in and so the   ‘new’ Monster Munch Monsters simply faded away…

© Arfon Jones 2012. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Munch Munchers Merit Medal

You will recall the Monster Munch Munchers club pack I mentioned in a previous post. The club sent out newsletters to members containing stories, puzzles and the opportunity for parents to reward good behaviour by nominating their “Little Monster” for a ‘Monster Munch Merit Medal’.
‘Are you a Monster- hero or heroine? We are giving away 50 monster-medals to the “Monster Munchers” who have performed great deeds to help others. There are many ways you can do this. What is important is that you have been a true Monster Muncher and gone out of your way to help someone else. As we all know, good little Monsters are always on the lookout to help others, especially those who can’t help themselves. All you have to do is ask your parent or guardian to write to the address shown on the back page explaining your Monster-deeds. We will read them all and select the fifty greatest Monster-deeds performed by our members.’

In one issue they printed such a letter regarding one Steven Campell from North Humberside whose mother had nominated him for a medal.  Not only did he receive a medal he also joined another four lucky ‘Monster Munchers’ that were selected to go to Wikstead Park for the tea party with monsters promising them an “action packed day on all the exciting rides, amusements and, of course, lots of fun with the Monsters”

  

         

With the newsletter promising 50 medals its safe to say that these medals are rare, so allow me to share with you one of the prized items from my collection, a genuine Monster Munch Munchers Merit Medal from 1987! The medal is just over 4inches long and stored in its original presentation case 

Additional: Over the past few months I have been contacted by several people who stumble upon this page and share their own memories of this brand. Its been wonderful, if you were in the Monster Munch Munchers club (or better yet one of the lucky 5 winners!) leave a comment or message me direct.

© Arfon Jones 2012. All images are copyrighted throughout the world

New Look for 2012!

My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates to this site, despite vowing to make these updates more frequent my work has kept me very busy and prevented me from doing so. I hope to rectify this matter and share many other items from my collection with you over the next few months. In the meantime, I thought I would have the banner re-vamped and amalgamated with my new web site and now thanks to my good friend Paul McCaul at FixMyPhoto I have been able to do just that! So impressed with Paul’s creative flair on this and my other blog page banner I thought I would share a link to his site FixMyPhoto.co.uk and ‘encourage’ you to check out his work! Have your photographs imperfection free or laced with an array of special effects and printed on canvas. I have mentioned his work before in the past and with most of us on a computer these days its not often I am able to describe someone as a “Computer Whiz” but I can with Paul, who does some amazing things with photographs in a friendly and efficient way! So check out his site and Facebook page and see what services he offers… tell him Arfon sent you!

© Arfon Jones 2012. All images are copyrighted throughout the world

Monster Munch Munchers Club pack

One of my favourite items from my Monster Munch collection has to be a Monster Munch Munchers Club pack from 1987! Monster Munch would often promote this club on their packets and a devoted Monster Muncher that applied would receive this pack containing; A Monster Munch Munchers certificate, Monster Munch Muncher Membership Card, Monster Munch Munchers Pen, Monster Munch Munchers Badge, Monster Munch Munchers Magazine (newsletter), Monster Munch Board Game, Monster Munch Magic Slate, Two Fact Files (Geography themed facts about 1:Earth 2:Water) and Transfers! Inside the “file” it reads, ‘Welcome to the “Monster Munch Munchers!” All the Monsters are looking forward very much to you joining them in having lots of fun. There will be many exciting things for you to play with and do; such as games, competitions, stories, crosswords and much, much more. Not only that, you will be able to join the Monsters on their adventures in MonsterWorld, where they encounter many weird and wonderful things. We hope you’ll like this special “Magic File”. But make sure you look after it and keep it somewhere safe, as only “Monster Munch Munchers” are allowed to look inside. Open your “file” and you’ll discover your won special “Munchers” member ship card, badge, pen and certificate. But that’s not all! There is also a Monster’s board game, magazine, magic slate, two fact-files and a transfers set – made especially for you by the Monsters. Being a “Monster Muncher” is great fun. And you may even win a prize! During the forthcoming year, we’ll be sending you Two further magazines, which will both contain even more new and exciting things for you to do. Bye for now, have fun!’ Any child returning home from a long day at school would have undoubtedly been thrilled to discover one of these waiting for them as the artwork and wording on this pack is beautifully appealing. As you can see from these photographs.

The Monster Munch Munchers Magazine was just as well illustrated, with puzzles and stories and a mini poster to stick the transfers on! It encouraged members to write-in and share their pictures and jokes it even offered parents the opportunity to nominate their “Little Monster” for a ‘Monster Munch Merit Medal’ for good behaviour. The medal was awarded to 50 of the most deserving with the best 5 being invited to a special Monster party to meet the Monsters themselves! Good behaviour is a reoccurring theme in the club as Monster Munch Munchers are asked to try and keep the Monster promises

Keep My Monster Bedroom Tidy
Do a good Monster deed every day
Keep my Muncher teeth clean
Be careful crossing the road
Do my Monster Homework
Make my Monster bed every day
Be kind to other Monsters

As promised inside the file the magazines continued through the year with a final issue and on the back it reads,
“This is the last Munchers magazine in the current series because the Monsters are going away on a great adventure. All the Monsters have enjoyed the magazine, especially all your jokes, puzzles and pictures. All you have to do now is enter all the competitions and remember to watch out for the Monsters and their favourite snack, Monster Munch – Ask your mum to use the money off voucher enclosed. “

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world

Monster Munch Club Offer

Monster Munchers that sent away for their The Mighty Monster Bike Kit would find that their Monster Munch Bike Kit also included a newsletter and badge! The badge featured all the monsters on the front telling everyone to “Join the Club”.
The newsletter congratulated them on collecting all their empty packets (18) and offered the chance to join the Monster Munch Club with a 10% discount on the membership cost! The Members pack contained “A Wacky Monster Badge, and a Mega-Monster Board Game packed with loads of Monster games (including Super Power Draughts and Monster on Treasure Island Game) and mind boggling Puzzles.” All this could be obtained by returning the form with a cheque or postal order for £1.79 (normal price £1.99) and a 32p stamp! The offer closed on 31/3/1992…


© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Munch Spokey Dokeys Retail Pack

As part of Smith’s 1990 ‘The Mighty Monster Bike’ offer, retailers were offered the chance to “Either sell these Spokey Dokeys for 15p each by tearing off the right hand panel OR Run your own promotion and give a Spokey Dokey away with every two packs of Monster Munch.” As you can see this particular retailer decided to sell them for 15p each...

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Munch Baseball Cap

Monster Munch baseball cap circa 1990


© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Munch Pencil Cases

Not official Smiths products but nice nevertheless... Monster Munch pencil cases by Helix circa 1991

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monster Spooky Sound Keyring

Imported by Logistix for Kids there were 4 to collect Pink Monster, Blue Monster, Green Monster and Purple Witch. Each one plays its own unique “spooky sound” when the button is pressed.


© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Mighty Monster Bike Kit

In 1990 Monster Munch launched ‘The Mighty Monster Bike Kit’. This “sensational” kit promised to be “specially designed to give you maximum colour, noise and presence whilst on the streets. Designed for safety and fun!” The kit could be obtained by either sending in 18 empty special “bike kit” packs with a 28p postage stamp or 6 proofs of purchase with a cheque/ postal order for 99p and a 28p postage stamp. The kit included,

A Dazzling Monster Reflector “which slides onto your spokes and keeps cars at bay”4 Day-Glo Monster Stickers “to stick on bicycle handlebars, mudguards or frame”

10 Monster shaped Spokey Dokeys which “clip-on” to your spokes

Reflectors could also be found free inside special Multipacks!
© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Furry Monster Badges

In 1990 Monster Munchers were urged to not miss out on obtaining their crucial furry pet monsters that could glow in the dark! “Take them to school and sit them on your desk or wear them as a badge. Then watch their faces glow in the dark at night. They’re monstrous!” There were 4 to collect each one standing 2.5 inches tall with a furry pom pom body. Each one could be obtained by collecting 9 empty promotional packs (or 2 promotional packs along with a cheque or postal order for 95p)

28 days later your monster would arrive along with a warning note that read,“Warning! Ferocious Monsters!These furry friends don’t look it but they can be real terrors! (Especially if they havent had their Monster Munch for the day.)Please do not wear them on lightweight clothes, (eg T-Shirts), as they may rip them. They love it best on warm clothes like jumpers or coats. Please keep them away from children under the age of three.
Please note the promoters can not be held responsible for any damage caused by the monster badges.”



© Arfon Jones 2010. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Whizzer and Chips October 27th 1984

Whizzer and Chips offered 750 readers the chance to win their very own furry green monster!
Contestants were asked to ‘Find which flavour Monster Munch is connected to which hand’ also enclosing 3 tokens saved from previous issues.


Winners were congratulated on the 23rd of February 1985,
‘What keen-eyed readers you are! In our recent Smiths Monster Munch competition just about every entrant worked out that hand A went to the Crispy Bacon Monster Munch pack; B to roast Beef, and C to Pickled Onion.
All correct entries were then judged on neatness with age considered. We regret there is not enough space to list the 750 winners but each has been sent a cute, furry, green, three-armed Monster!’





Update: 16/2/2013 I usually don’t include images of  other people's items but I had to show you this, sent to me by competition winner Tim Younger! Tim was one of the 750 winners to receive Whizzer & Chips’ prize, “ I remember being amazed when I came home from school to find this massive box, almost as big as me, waiting in the hall.” This wonderful “cute, furry, green, three-armed Monster” stands 2 ft tall as he approaches 30 years of age he sits in Tim’s living room impressing all his visitors. My sincere thanks to Tim for taking the time to write and share his photos. 


© Arfon Jones 2010. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.