Thanks to social media, I have had a slew of friends and acquaintances contribute their own stories, pictures, and ideas of doing a shopping spree to horde as many of the delicious snack cakes as possible. One of my good friends commented on renting a particular film that featured one of the Hostess products. This led to a pop culture conversation.... and inspired me to blog for the first time since New Years.
Product placement and marketing is one of the many things thrown into movies. Sometimes they are put there with the intention that if a movie watcher were to see it, they would want said product and go buy it. Other times, a product is discussed by one or more characters and develop its own following by the audience (think about Reese's Pieces in ET... a lot were sold that year because of the film). Now, Hostess products have made appearances in both ways and I would like to demonstrate that to you. Bring on the movie culture of Hostess products!!!
Zombieland
I'm with Tallahassee... find a Hostess truck abandoned on the side of the road, invade and find something you love. While it didn't work out for him at this point of the film, it made my taste buds water for Sno Balls.
True words Tallahassee, and we don't have a Zombie Apocalypse (yet).
Ghostbusters
Ah, the infamous scene where Egon uses Twinkies as an example on how to explain energy. This got a second wind of pop culturedom when these scene made an appearance in Zombieland in Bill Murray's house. It also got me wanting Twinkies. **Drool**
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Some of you may not realize that Wonder Bread is a product of Hostess Bakeries Inc. This is really going to hit a lot of people when all the grocery stores have empty spaces in the bread aisle. Product placement was used in a ridiculous manner in this film, as it is somewhat comical as to how many products are promoted on Nascar vehicles (for a movie that makes fun of product placement and subliminal messages, please watch Josie and the Pussycats).
Wall-E
I know it doesn't show it in the scene, but right after the clip cuts off Wall-E gives the cockroach a Twinkie. It was meant as an inside joke for adults about the correlation of a post-apocalyptic world and the shelf life of the yellow snack cake.
Weird Al Yankovic "Fat" Music Video
Okay, I know this isn't a movie clip, per se, but it represents Hostess through Ding-Dongs. :-)
As I was doing research on this blog, I was reminded (thanks to Wikipedia) that Hostess Brands was a Kansas City based company. Being a lifelong Kansas City girl, I take pride in anything that is from my hometown. I haven't watched any of the local news yet, but I am banking that someone is going reflect on that as they report the end of Hostess Bakeries Inc.
On a final note, as we say goodbye to the company I hope that whoever purchases the recipes for our favorite snack cakes is someone who is as passionate as Tallahassee in Zombieland, who simply wants a taste of a snack cake that reminds them of happiness.
