PEZ
Page 8
The first PEZ dispenser was invented by Oscar Uxa in 1948.
Two years later, in 1998, gum dispensers were offered, but it was through a licensing agreement with another company and had nothing to do with the original look of a traditional PEZ dispenser. Two different series of full figural animal dispensers were offered called PEZ Petz. Instead of dispensing gum like a classic PEZ dispenser, these holders had a sliding cover that held the gum inside. It was more of a gum container than a gum dispenser. Series 1 contained four different characters: a penguin, dog, monkey and pig. Series 2 also contained four different characters: a cat, kangaroo, chipmunk and whale.
The original Bubbleman dispenser, circa 1996.
The year 1997 saw the launch of the most successful movie line of dispensers and arguably one of the most lucrative franchises in history: Star Wars. Despite the common belief that PEZ had a line of Star Wars dispensers in 1977 when the initial movie was launched, it would actually be twenty years before the first PEZ dispensers were developed. The lineup included Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, C3-PO, Yoda and Chewbacca. The dispensers were an immediate hit and continue to this day to be one of the largest, most successful lines of dispensers PEZ has ever offered. The following year, the line would grow to include Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Boba Fett and Ewok.
Many have asked, “Why no Han Solo?” He was a pivotal character throughout the franchise; why would PEZ not depict him as a dispenser? The answer is simple: the basis of a successful dispenser lies in the head. The characters chosen are easily recognizable from the neck up. Yes, Han Solo was a key figure, but from the neck up, he just looks like a guy. One could argue that Luke Skywalker was just a guy and Princess Leia was just a girl. True, but Luke could be done wearing his X-Wing fighter helmet and Leia could be done with the iconic side buns hair, both distinguishing features that made the characters recognizable. Han never had a signature accessory he wore on his head to differentiate his look; for that reason, he never became a dispenser.
As the decade came to a close, two new exclusive dispensers could be found: FAO Schwarz bears and Jack, the Jack in the Box restaurant mascot. Both were high-profile promotions depicting iconic representations of the company. FAO Schwarz had a candy division called FAO Schweetz, small candy stores inside the FAO Schwarz stores. The dispensers were exclusive to the Schweetz stores and could be found with four different stem colors: teal blue, red, yellow or purple, all with the classic FAO Bear on top. The first bears appeared in stores in August 1999 and had a retail price of $3.99 each.
The Jack in the Box promotion was exclusive to the restaurants, most of which are in the western part of the United States. The dispenser was done in the likeness of the company mascot, Jack, who was the fictitious chairman of the board. The ping-pong ball–like head, yellow clown hat, two blue eyes, pointy black nose and red linear smile were always part of the television campaigns and the other signature Jack in the Box promotion: antenna balls. The iconic mascot was a perfect fit as a PEZ dispenser.
For $1.99 and the purchase of any menu item, guests could purchase one of five dispensers. The dispensers came on either a red, yellow or blue stem. The summer these dispensers were released, I spent several weekends making long road trips across the state of Missouri to buy a small drink and my five PEZ dispensers. Looking back, the time I spent driving from restaurant to restaurant and money spent on gas was probably not the best use of my resources, but it sure was fun!
Most dispensers have the legal line molded into the back of the head as “Jack in the Box”; some rare variations instead have “Foodmaker.” Foodmaker is the holding company for Jack in the Box restaurants. Dispensers with this marking are hard to find and sell for a premium over their more common Jack in the Box counterparts. If you are searching for one of these unusual variations, you better have good eyes or a magnifying glass, as the markings are tiny.
The collateral materials used in the restaurants for the promotion were fun and collectible in and of themselves. Oversize counter cards and window stickers can be found featuring a large Jack dispenser surrounded by a border of PEZ candy tablets and the words “somebody call the PEZ Hall of Fame and tell them I’m on my way.—Jack” The promotion continued the following year; this time, the dispensers were ninety-nine cents each, and there was no longer the five-dispenser restriction. Presumably, these were left over from the previous year. The tagline on the promotional material this time said, “They almost retired, but I renegotiated their contracts.—Jack”
The final company mascot that year was done in Europe for a grocery chain called Zielpunkt. It commissioned PEZ International to immortalize its mascot, Smiley, in a unique and likeable dispenser. The personified, smiling, orange ball head featured a sideways blue baseball cap with arms and hands protruding from the side of the head, one hand giving thumbs up, the other pointing straight ahead. The orange card with vertical stripes featured a sideways Zielpunkt logo and the phrase Gut & günstig leben!, which translates roughly to “live well and inexpensively.” These dispensers were never offered in the United States and have become difficult to find.
DISPENSER TIMELINE: 1990s
1990 Easter Bunny; Peanuts: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Woodstock, Snoopy; Indian whistle; monkey whistle; parrot whistle; penguin whistle; tiger whistle; Garfield: Garfield, Arlene, Nermal
1991 winter bear; skull; pumpkin; Muppets: Fozzy Bear, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo; Daffy Duck; Scrooge McDuck; Spiderman revision; Silver Glow; D series trucks
1992 chick in eggshell revision; Droopy Dog revision; Spike revision; Ducktails: Gyro Gearloose, Bouncer Beagle, Webby
1993 Flintstones: Fred, Barney, Pebbles, Dino; Tom (Tom & Jerry) revision; Peter PEZ revision
1994 boy; girl; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo
1995 Batman with black cowl; chick in egg revision; Jerry (Tom & Jerry) revisions; peppermint regulars; PEZ-a-saurs: She-saur, Fly-saur, He-saur, I-saur
1996 Batman (Dark Knight version); Bugs Bunny Playworld set: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester, Tasmanian Devil, Yosemite Sam; Santa revision (C version with painted eyes); Valentine hearts
1997 Star Wars: Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, C3-PO, Yoda, Chewbacca; Jerry; Daisy Duck; Donald Duck revision; Pluto revision; Mickey Mouse revision; Minnie Mouse; Miss Piggy; Disney duck nephews: Huey, Dewey, Louie; Bubbleman; Kooky Zoo remakes: Blinky Bill, lion, gator, hippo, elephant; Pink Panther: Pink Panther, Inspector Clousseau; aardvark; ant; Smurf series 2: Brainy Smurf, Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Smurf, Gargamel
1998 Star Wars: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Ewok, Boba Fett; Misfits: red and yellow snowman, black and yellow witch, pink elephant, tan lion, black skull, black bear, brown bear; Nintendo: Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Koopa Trooper, Mario; PEZ Pals with and without matching body parts: Alpine boy, shell boy, pilot boy; Shell Boys with body parts and six assorted hair colors; ARAL PEZ Pal boy with body parts and three different hair colors; PEZ Petz Series 1: Butler the Penguin, Zippy the Dog, Grinz the Monkey, Curly the Pig; PEZ Petz Series 2: Purrl the Cat, Sidney the Kangaroo, Cheeky the Chipmunk, Blubbers the Whale; psychedelic hand limited editions; Asterix: Asterix, Obelix, Muselix; Batman Dark Knight; Bubbleman neon; Garfield Series 2: Garfield, Chef Garfield, Sleepy Garfield, Aviator Garfield, Odie; glowing ghosts: Happy Henry, Naughty Neil, Slimy Sid, Polly Pumpkin; glow-in-the-dark neon PEZ Pals: pilot boy, shell boy, Alpine boy; mariner PEZ Pal boy with body parts; Kooky Zoo Crystals: lion, gator, hippo, elephant
1999 Jack in the Box restaurant: Jack; Muppet revision: Kermit, Miss Piggy; Looney Tunes: Sylvester with sunglasses, Taz with bicycle helmet, Daffy Duck with stocking cap, Tweety with sideways baseball cap, Bugs Bunny with baseball cap; Zielpunkt; psychedelic flower remakes; psychedelic hand Misfits; winter bear; BP PEZ Pal boy with body parts; color crystal Bubbleman; Easter Bunny revision; lamb revision; chick in egg revision; clear crystal crazy animals: hippo, elephant, lion, gator; clear crystal ghosts: Happy Henry, Naughty Neil, Slimy Sid,
Polly Pumpkin; clear crystal holiday: Santa, snowman, witch, skull; clear crystal PEZ-a-saurs: She-saur, Fly-saur, He-saur, I-saur; crazy animals: frog, shark, octopus, camel; FAO Schwarz Bears; non-glowing ghosts: Happy Henry, Slimy Sid, Naughty Neil; glowing D series trucks; peppermint regulars: gold, black, pink, silver, translucent white; Wolverine; Incredible Hulk revision
Chapter 6
Y2K
The new millennium, year 2000, was the start of a new decade and the start of PEZ plush dispensers. The year started with the release of a new product line called Fuzzy Friends. These were fully functioning dispensers wrapped in soft plush material with articulated arms and legs in the shape of cats, dogs and bears. Each had the PEZ logo embroidered on the side of the body and a backpack clip attached, making it easy to attach to a coat or school bag. The dispensers could each hold a full-size roll of candy and included the name of the character, hometown and birth date on the back of the packaging. A purple bear named Gilbert, brown bear named Buddy, orange bear named T.J. and black-and-white bear named Jade were the first to be released, followed soon by the cat and dog series. The new plush line would help create additional sales as well as additional placement in stores. The plush line would continue for years to come, offering a variety of non-licensed characters such as Safari Animals, Barnyard Babies and Winter Plush. The latter offerings were reduced in size to hold just a half roll of candy versus a full roll like the Fuzzy Friends.
A new PEZ line called Bugz was introduced. These fanciful dispensers included such adorable characters as ladybug, grasshopper, flutterfly, worm, bee, baby bee, beetle, caterpillar, ant and fly. All of them could be found in traditional solid colors as well as clear crystal plastic and color crystal plastic. A select group with crystal heads and specific head stem color combinations was offered exclusively at select Walmart stores as a Kid Connection exclusive.
At the time, these Kid Connection locations were small candy shops within select Walmart stores that started showing up around 2002. They were usually located in the front of the building, strategically placed between the entry/exit doors, just the right place to catch shoppers with a sweet tooth. Unfortunately, the program lasted for only a couple of years, after which the shops were closed. Dispensers still on these exclusive cards were difficult to find then and rarely show up now.
The following year, a couple of new, more interactive dispensers were introduced: Jungle Mission flashlight and the Magic dispenser. The Magic dispensed candy and had a special compartment that held an extra pack of candy. By closing and reopening the special compartment, you could make the candy disappear and then magically reappear. The Jungle Mission was a flashlight that contained every accessory you might need the next time you were lost in the jungle: ruler, compass, backpack clip, magnifying glass and, most important: a PEZ dispenser!
The first dispensers were known as regulars. Original dispensers have sold for more than $100 each.
In 2002, PEZ celebrated its golden anniversary—fifty years in America! To celebrate the milestone, PEZ re-created the Golden Glow dispenser. Looking very similar to the original, the remake included the years “1952” and “2002” molded in raised numbers on opposite sides of the cap. The dispenser included a special base, also with the shiny gold finish with “50th Anniversary Special Edition Golden Glow” printed on top. The dispenser was offered exclusively through the direct mail-order program for the special price of $19.52.
For the first time, a special dispenser was offered to U.S. convention hosts. The witch dispenser was intended to be an addition to the Misfits line and was molded in unusual colors. As early samples arrived, it was realized that the colors were not done as ordered, creating a surplus of several hundred dispensers. The dispensers could have been disposed of, but with such unusual colors, it was thought collectors might enjoy them. The witch had an orange hat, red hair and glow-in-the-dark face and stem. The dispensers were offered to convention hosts and included in registration packets at conventions that year. Collectors were thrilled to add such an unusual dispenser to their collections.
The initial dispenser was followed up one year later, this time purposely with an unusual snowman dispenser with blue crystal head, glow-in-the-dark top hat, green scarf and purple stem. A yellow crystal head bee dispenser with purple eyes and antenna and blue stem had the words “convention 2004” printed vertically down the front of the stem. The year 2005 offered a clear crystal chick with an orange bonnet, red shell and blue sparkle stem with “2005 convention dispenser” printed vertically on the front of the stem. This would be the last U.S. convention dispenser done in funky colors for many years. Other convention dispensers were offered, but they were stock, non-licensed dispensers with only a pad printed message to distinguish them.
In 2016, the unusual colors for a convention dispenser appeared once again in the form of PEZ Emojis that were offered exclusively to convention hosts. The U.S. dispensers were different than the convention dispensers offered to hosts in other parts of the world. At this time, there are three major conventions held in the United States: in California, Connecticut and Ohio. For the Southern California convention, 300 dispensers were made. The dispenser was a yellow crystal Emoji on a hot pink stem. For the Connecticut convention, 400 dispensers were made. The dispenser was a purple crystal Emoji with orange stem. For the Cleveland convention, 550 dispensers were made. The dispenser was a purple crystal Emoji with dark orange stem. All contained the name of the convention printed vertically in red ink on the front of the stem and were packaged on an exclusive blue blister card created specifically for these three shows.
The Golden Glow dispenser remake and stand, created to celebrate fifty years in America, circa 2002.
The 2000s would be the decade for sports promotions. The Chicago Cubs were the first to have a “PEZ dispenser day” at Wrigley Field in June 2000. The first fifteen thousand fans through the gate received a limited-edition Charlie Brown dispenser with a commemorative souvenir card. Other teams took notice of the Cubs’ huge success and started their own “PEZ day” at the ballpark. This trend was not limited to just Major League Baseball; other teams, such as the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards (basketball) and Philadelphia Kixx (soccer), followed suit as well. During most of these events, fifteen thousand dispensers were given away, a very small quantity in relation to the number PEZ normally makes of a specific dispenser sold at the retail level. Since these were offered to the general public as a promotional item rather than the collector market, locating certain examples has proven to be difficult.
The very first sports promotion done for the Chicago Cubs was Charlie Brown, circa 2000.
PROMOTIONAL SPORTS DISPENSERS GIVEN AWAY AT GAMES
June 14, 2000: Chicago Cubs, Charlie Brown with logo on cap
June 26, 2001: Chicago Cubs, Joe Cool with logo on baseball cap
July 8, 2001: Minnesota Twins, T.C. Bear
September 15, 2001: Chicago Cubs, Homer Simpson with sticker on bag
September 23, 2001: Philadelphia Phillies, baseball with team logo
October 6, 2001: Chicago Cubs, Homer Simpson
November 9, 2001: Orlando Magic, basketball with team logo
February 3, 2002: Washington Wizards, basketball with team logo
March 2–3, 2002: Philadelphia Kixx, white ball with team logo (only 2,500 were given out each day)
March 15, 2002: New Jersey Nets, basketball with team logo
June 27, 2002: Chicago Cubs, baseball with team logo
June 28, 2002: Columbus Clippers, baseball with team logo
July 5, 2002: New York Yankees, baseball with team logo
July 14, 2002: Minnesota Twins, baseball with team logo
August 2, 2002: Washington Mystics (WNBA), white basketball with team logo
August 14, 2002: Chicago Cubs, Charlie Brown
August 28, 2002: Yankees (Staten Island), baseball
September 14, 2002: Arizona Diamondbacks, baseball with team logo
October
30, 2002: Seattle Supersonics, basketball
April 21, 2003: LSU Tigers, baseball
June 16, 2003: Minnesota Twins, T.C. Bear (second release)
July 21, 2003: New York Yankees, Charlie Brown
2004: Sweden Soccer Team, soccer ball
April 18, 2004: LSU, football
2004: Metro Stars (European hockey team), puck
July 30, 2005: Connecticut Suns, basketball
2007: Metro Stars (European hockey team), DEG lion
PEZ experienced another change in leadership in late 2003: Scott McWhinnie, who had been on board since 1983 as the president/CEO, left the company. Upon his departure, a team of senior management ran the company until a new president could be found.
Business continued through the transition. A line of non-licensed emergency hero dispensers was released, along with Funky Face dispensers. The Funky Face line incorporated the same basic head design: a ball molded in a variety of colors with thirteen various facial expressions. The heads were offered on many different stem color combinations and once again leveraged the PEZ brand with an exclusive design that didn’t require licensing. The designs were popular and would serve as the precursor to the PEZ Emoji line introduced years later in 2016. Several new additions to the direct mail-order program were added, and licensing deals to include Looney Tunes and Sponge Bob were secured.
In the fall of 2004, Joseph Vittoria was brought to lead the company as president/CEO. Vittoria had business experience with such companies as J.A. Henckels Cutlery, PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM. Business, as well as the company’s relationship with the collector community, would improve under his leadership. Several of the first big initial licensing agreements included NASCAR, Hello Kitty and Sesame Street. The Walgreens truck was introduced; it would be the first in a long series of private label trucks that would be offered. A new piece of key business would also be developed under his direction: gift sets.