How A Teen's Threat To Boycott Twinkies Saved Its Iconic Mascot
From the devil-may-care attitude of Cheetos' Chester Cheetah to the chocoholic hijinks of Cocoa Puffs' Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, it seems that tasty snacks and iconic mascots go hand and hand. And in the wild west of fun and memorable trademarked characters, the most adored cartoon figurehead of snack cakes may very well be Twinkie the Kid.
According to Wide Open Eats, this sweet-to-eat outlaw first appeared on Twinkies boxes in the 1970s. Although Twinkie the Kid eventually became a member of a colorful cast of Hostess mascots — among which included the steadfast sailor Captain Cupcake and the regal snack monarch King Ding Dong — it was obvious that Americans always had a preference for the cowboy with a classic marshmallow filling. In fact, Wide Open Eats even reports that America's love for Twinkie the Kid has earned him, not one, but two collectible Funko Pop figures.
However, despite treat lovers' incredible adoration for the mascot, there was a time that you would have found your Twinkies box didn't feature everyone's favorite hat-toting cowboy snack cake — and he may have never appeared on a package again if it weren't for one courageous boy from New Jersey, as Mental Floss notes. Here's the story of how a 13-year-old named Judd Slivka made sure Twinkie the Kid rode again.
Twinkie the Kid was almost put in the jailhouse
While the most tumultuous time in Twinkies' history was most likely when snack cake fans were forced to make the recipe at home after Twinkies were almost discontinued due to Hostess going bankrupt, we'd argue the near extinction of Twinkie the Kid was a close second (via ABC News). As Mental Floss reports, Continental Baking, the company behind the production and distribution of Twinkies, decided to do away with America's favorite snack-time cowboy in 1988.
However, unlike the disappearance of Ronald McDonald, someone was willing to fight for Twinkie the Kid. And that someone was none other than New Jersey teen, Judd Slivka. After deciding that he could not stand this injustice against Twinkie the Kid, Silvka was quick to act.
According to a news article from The Sun Journal published in 1990, the then-13-year-old NJ native rallied fellow Twinkie the Kid lovers to his side at his Middle School to create the "Save the Twinkie the Kid Foundation." And, with the force of an entire organization behind him, Slivka proceeded to organize a boycott and write a letter that would prove to save the cowboy.
Hostess originally thought the letter that saved the Twinkies mascot was written by a college student
"It seems that you have removed the greatest American there is, Twinkie the Kid, from the boxes and wrappers of your Twinkies product," The Sun Journal reported Judd Slivka wrote in his letter to Continental Baking. As the outlet noted, the letter demanding Twinkie the Kid's return was sent with a boycott consisting of 135 signatures, all of whose signers promised to not feast on anything produced by Continental Baking until the beloved cowboy was once again on packages.
It wasn't until two years later that Continental Baking reconnected with Silvka to ensure him that, thanks to his earnest plea, Twinkie the Kid would in fact return to snack cake boxes. However, the brand was surprised to find that the person who wrote them the passionate letter had not been a college-aged student, but in reality barely a teenage boy. Despite the confusion, and after informing Silvka the outlaw would return, Continental Baking still sweetened the deal by inviting him to a Twinkie birthday party at its headquarters, which, he of course attended.
True to their word, Mental Floss reports Continental Baking made all things right in the world by putting Twinkie the Kid back on boxes in 1990. And although you won't find the cowboy's image on specialty products like Twinkies ice cream, he still (rightfully) remains on the original Twinkies packages today.