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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.
Hi Dan. I don’t know where all the marketing with tigers began. Years ago I was into restoring Pontiacs especially GTOs. In 1965 they began using the tag line Grab a GTO tiger by the tail. They had a gto show car with a tiger striped interior; And you could get stuffed tiger tails (not real ones!) to hang out the trunk or off the back license plate of you gto. Exxon also used the tiger in their ads: “put a tiger in your tank” apparently tigers were big in 65 and 66. I don’t remember Tiger Bread though! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with Tiger bread and for some odd reason the jingle for it popped into my head today so I thought I’d Google it to see if I could find the ad. I ran across your post. Not sure why we loved Tiger bread but we kids sure did.
ReplyDeleteSame here
DeleteTiger bread was marketed by Purity Baking company out of Bluefield WV. I worked for them and we used to put adhesive paw prints on the grocery store floors leading to the bread rack and Tiger bread!
ReplyDeleteI had Tiger bread when I was a kid in West Virginia. I was trying to remember how the song went. I can remember the melody but not all of the words. Grab a tiger by the tail. Eat tiger bread and do not fail. There’s a something in every something. So grab a tiger by the tail. I thought I remembered a wrapper with black and orange stripes.
DeleteWe had TB in NH, the commercials were funny a me and my siblings all knew the jingle!! The ad used to appear during the daily kid shows like Captain Kangaroo, Bozo the Clown, Boomtown, and Major Mudd!
ReplyDeleteMy mother loved this bread as a kid! Thankyou so much for this blog, it helped clear up some confusion over the dinner table conversation.
ReplyDeleteI just got their jingle in my head this morning. It took a few minutes to remember all of it
ReplyDelete"Grab a tiger by the tail
Get tiger bread and do not fail
To get the light brown bread with the bag that seals up tight
And gra a tiger appetite "