I regret I don't have any Christmas-themed objet's d' Topps to share this year but have no fear -a whole buncha of product updates from Friend o'the Archive Lonnie Cummins are here!
Further to the goodies passed along by Jason Rhodes a month or so ago, Lonnie has provided images of an OPC Sparklers Bubble Gum retail box:
Compare that to the US version:
The U.S. box had a Bazooka ad but in in Canada a side panel recreated the image from the (U.S.) box top, with the sparkly gumballs in orbit.
Speaking of fruity gum, a Wild Cherry Flavor Mates wrapper also exists:
That makes five flavors now:
Banana
Fruit Punch
Grape
Orange
Wild Cherry
Interestingly the Banana and Fruit Punch flavors are clearly identified as having "Imitation Flavor" on the main "splash" of their wrappers and both of those carry a commodity code. The Orange and Wild Cherry flavors only note natural and artificial flavors in the ingredients indicia and carry no code, so I wonder if they predate their imitation brethren? The codes started sometime in 1966 and while there could have been tests of the product, or a tweaking of ingredients it may have just been a matter of timing on each wrapper's design and implementation.
I'm still looking for a good scan of the Grape wrapper and any other variants that might exist but this blurry image (also from Lonnie) is inconclusive as to what is written thereon, but don't believe I see a commodity code or any large "Imitation Flavor" wording, so it adheres to the present "no code/no imitation" protocol:
Lonnie also sent along a much more vivid partial box cover scan that makes me think our flavors have maxed out at five:
That's all four known individual fruit flavors indicated, with fruit punch implied, I guess! That's some enticing artwork but I don't think it helped sales much.
Have a great holiday everybody!