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And another one of those things was Tiger Bread.
You see, during our family camping trips in the 1960s, we often had to stock up on groceries in the nearest small town. As a result, we would end up with some weird brands we never heard of. And one of those brands was Tiger Bread. It had a cartoon tiger on the label.
The reason I remember Tiger Bread is because my parents used some of it to make toast on the Coleman camping stove. And whatever gadget they used to make toast put little burn marks on the bread similar to stripes.
Consequently, my brothers and I mistakenly thought that these stripes were a special feature of the Tiger Bread!
Anyway, using newspaper archives.com, I found several mid-1960s ads for Tiger Bread. It seems to have been a product that regional bakeries around the country had the option of producing and labeling with their own imprint.
The reason I remember Tiger Bread is because my parents used some of it to make toast on the Coleman camping stove. And whatever gadget they used to make toast put little burn marks on the bread similar to stripes.
Consequently, my brothers and I mistakenly thought that these stripes were a special feature of the Tiger Bread!
Anyway, using newspaper archives.com, I found several mid-1960s ads for Tiger Bread. It seems to have been a product that regional bakeries around the country had the option of producing and labeling with their own imprint.
Early ads feature a very cute tiger on the label and some clever ad copy. Here’s an ad that ran in the Raleigh Register in February 1966.
And here’s another ad in the same campaign that ran in April 1966 in the Somerset Daily American.
During that same year, Nickles Bakery began producing their own Tiger Bread, but with a different label design. This tiger was a little more angular and not as cute. I'm not 100% sure that it was the same product or a just a coincidence. And I can't remember which Tiger Bread we ate.
Here’s an ad that ran in the Tribune in late April 1966.
This little Nickles ad ran in the Marion Star in late September 1966. I like how it shamelessly uses a variation of Tony the Tiger’s classic line.
And finally, by the time the ad below ran in the Marion Star in April 1973, a new Tiger Bread variation had been introduced: Golden Tiger Butter Top Bread. (For a while those split top breads with butter poured into the crevice were very popular.)
I’m not sure how long Tiger Bread was produced. Its heyday seemed to be the 60s and early 70s. But it's interesting thinking how national brands (like Wonder Bread) and regional bakeries (like Nickles) used to rule the bread aisles in the old days.
Here’s an ad that ran in the Tribune in late April 1966.
