The 100th Anniversary of Dum-Dums

It was in 1924 that Dum-Dums were introduced by Akron Candy Company in Bellevue, Ohio. They were named Dum-Dums by I..C. Bahr,the sales manager of Akron Candy Company, because he thought children could easily remember and pronounce the name. For those few of you unfamiliar with Dum-Dums, they are small, spherical lollipops (or suckers, if you prefer). Since the late 20th Century banks, doctor's offices, and other places have given Dum-Dums away free to customers and patients.

Dum-Dums originally came in seven flavours: butterscotch, cherry, grape, coconut-pineapple, lemon, lime, and orange. Over the years the number of Dum-Dum flavours has expanded. In 1966 the flavours of chocolate, raspberry, and strawberry were added, making for 10 different flavours of Dum-Dums. Even more flavours have been added since, so that here is everything from the original flavours like grape and orange to newer flavours like cream soda and watermelon.

It was in 2001 that Dum-Dum introduced the "Mystery Flavour." Mystery Flavour Dum-Dums are identified by a wrapper with question marks on it and reading "Mystery Flavor." The Mystery Flavor is essentially a mixture of two flavours that results from the combination of one completed batch and the next batch that is just starting.

It was in 1953 that Spangler Candy Company bought Dum-Dums from Akron Candy Company. The production of Dum-Dums were then moved to Bryan, Ohio. In Spangler's first year of producing Dum-Dums, they made 84 million of the lollipops. By the time they bought Dum-Dums, Spangler Candy Company was already known for their marshmallow Circus Peanuts, and Marshmallow Topping.

Under Spangler Candy Company, the popularity of Dum-Dums continued to grow. By 1959 banks, doctor's offices, and so  on were already handing out Dum-Dums. It was also that year that the "Save Your Wrappers for Stuff" program was introduced, whereby people could send in saved Dum-Dum wrappers for various items. The "Save Your Wrappers for Stuff" program was discontinued in 1994. It was relaunched in 2001 and then discontinued again in 2020. Dum-Dums would also have an impact on pop culture in 1959 the song "Dum Dum: The Lollipop Song" by Johnny Christmas and The Dynamics was released.

It was in 1966 that Dum-Dum's mascot, the Dum-Dum Drum Man was introduced. The Dum-Dum Drum Man appeared in print ads for the candy. It was created by the Howard Swink Advertising Agency of Marion, Ohio. Since then there has even been Dum-Dum Drum Man merchandise, from t-shirts to a Funko Pop (as part of their Ad Icons series). It was in 1991 that one of the most famous Dum-Dum commercials came out. The "talking heads" commercial aired on Nickelodeon and Nick-at-Nite. It won a 1992 Telle Award for quality advertising on cable TV.

It was in 1997 that  mascot and goodwill ambassador for Dum-Dums in the form of a Capuchin monkey named Dr. Irving was introduced. Dr. Irving shared Dum-Dums with hospital patients and nursing home residents across the nation. This year, as part of their 100th anniversary celebration,  Dum-Dums launched a "Flavorites" campaign, whereby people could go to their website and vote for their favourite flavour.

Dum-Dums continue to be popular to this day. As of 2022, Spangler Candy Company was manufacturing 12 million Dum-Dums every day. They are still given out at banks, doctor's offices, and various other places. Indeed, the only complaint about Dum-Dums that I have heard is that they could be bigger. I have to think that Dum-Dums will be around for another 100 years.