What's most interesting to me about this particular ad is that the copy clearly is trying to distance itself from the astronaut concept by simply calling them "Food Sticks" though the box still says "Space Food Sticks." So I'm dating this as maybe only as early as 1972 but no later than 1975 when the Apollo program ended and we stopped going to the moon.
What's next most interesting is that these sticks have a balance of protein, vitamins and minerals with amounts of carbohydrates and fats and are each about 44 calories! Obviously playing fast and loose with the totals... no nutrition information labels yet.
I think the original concept was to sell a product that the astronauts actually used (that's what kept Tang so popular for so long) but these items only resembled the "freeze dried" food stuffs our ultimate fly boys dined on during their missions.
The box says 4.875 oz and 14 sticks, so each is .34 oz (tiny, by today's portions). If my favorite power bar is 270 calories in 2.4 oz, that would make these about 39 calories each. I think it's possible.
Nothing freeze-dried, these were more like candy (or like a lot of today's protein power bars).
Unfortunately, space had stopped being sexy by then. By the 70s it was just seen as being expensive, boring, complicated, and, after Apollo 13, dangerous. Not qualities you want people to associate with your product.
I wonder if this product was completely repackaged at some point with a different name. Of course, today it would be an "energy bar."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-08-04 11:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-05 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-05 02:41 am (UTC)What's next most interesting is that these sticks have a balance of protein, vitamins and minerals with amounts of carbohydrates and fats and are each about 44 calories! Obviously playing fast and loose with the totals... no nutrition information labels yet.
I think the original concept was to sell a product that the astronauts actually used (that's what kept Tang so popular for so long) but these items only resembled the "freeze dried" food stuffs our ultimate fly boys dined on during their missions.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-05 05:32 am (UTC)The box says 4.875 oz and 14 sticks, so each is .34 oz (tiny, by today's portions). If my favorite power bar is 270 calories in 2.4 oz, that would make these about 39 calories each. I think it's possible.
Nothing freeze-dried, these were more like candy (or like a lot of today's protein power bars).
no subject
Date: 2012-08-06 07:14 pm (UTC)I wonder if this product was completely repackaged at some point with a different name. Of course, today it would be an "energy bar."
no subject
Date: 2012-08-09 11:15 am (UTC)They were AWEsome.