This bag came up on Trademe quite some time ago, perhaps as long as three years. I remember it from my childhood around the mid 1970’s although the design was already pretty dated then. I bid and lost the auction, but I kept the image intending to eventually recreate the graphic, which I have done here.
As usual, curious, I started researching the brand and company and I am afraid to say that this time I have turned up zilch. I just can’t find any information on Jack’s or Reid Foods in New Zealand at all…
however I did run across this, which is interesting. It is a POS from the very extensive collection of Dan Goodsell, artist and creator of the Mr. Toast character. A Flickr “pro”, his images number over 7,500 and most of that is vintage packaging from his collection, making him one of the biggest authorities on the genre.
There are many points about the branding that make it clear there is some relation – the name, the colours, font and layout – It’s really the same logo except instead of the human chef it had a bird wearing the hat. so I asked him what he knew of it.
“I think Jack’s was a 1950’s local California Chip company. Probably it has no relation to the New Zealand brand. Most of the US potato chip brands were just small local manufacturers. Only later in the 1960’s and beyond did larger companies consolidate and take over or push out the smaller guys. So I would guess it is no”.
I wonder if it was made legitimately under a licensing deal? or just “ripped off”? Dan’s answer makes me think that it was very closely inspired… lifted,…well let’s just call a spade and say it’s been jacked, figuratively speaking.
In my Google travels I located this company in Costa Rica that is still making a product called “Jack’s” today. Interesting how similar the logo is….what do you think? I’ll stick with the “appropriated” scenario in both cases! I am sure eventually more information will turn up but until I am delivered more clues by the research gods, I’ll just have to be satisfied with what I’ve got.
Check out Grickily’s (Dan Goodsell) photostream on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60585948@N00
longwhitekid 