Ah Yes, now you’re talking. As a kid who became a teenager by the end of the decade, this was my time to enjoy a childhood of chocolate. And now get to write about it nearly 40 years later. So, here are my personal memories of 1970s chocolate bars.
Texan Chocolate Bar
My personal favourite chocolate bar – perhaps influenced by the tv adverts – was Nestle’s Texan.
‘Sure is a mighty chew’ was the catch line for this chewy nougat and toffee bar which was briefly back on the shelves in 2005. The cartoon tv ads usually featured a US cowboy who spoke the famous line with a Clint Eastwood mock accent.
Often he’d be tied to a cactus plant out in the desert surrounded by Mexican bandits. ‘What is your last request?’ the captain of the firing range would ask before giving the order to shoot. Cue, some hours later, to a sunset, with the bandits by now fast asleep and the cool cowboy still chewing his Texan bar. Cactus plant uprooted, he’d then walk equally slowly into the distance.
Oh yes, a mighty chew indeed and fond memories although it goes without saying that we all ate out Texan bars far quicker than the cool cowboy.
Aztec Snack Bar
What else did my decimal currency childhood pocket money go on? While we’re still in the Americas, is anyone up for an Aztec? This Cadbury’s bar was a mix of chocolate, nougat and caramel It didn’t survive intact once I’d finished with a bar – but the public’s taste must have been altogether more discerning because as a brand Atzec didn’t make it to the end of the decade.
Bounty & Cabana Snack Bar
Bounty was marketed as a ‘taste of tropical paradise’. Rowntree’s Cabana must have been equally exotic with its fusion of coconut, caramel and cherry. Perhaps too exotic as it never really caught on.
Banjo Snack Bar
Does anyone remember another bar sadly no longer with us by the name of Banjo? With orange lettering and a sort of purple wrapper, Banjo was made by Mars. Perhaps, it can best be described as a cousin of Kit Kat – with a peanut layering.
Rumba Bar
A bar that was marketed for adults was Cadbury’s Rumba. This two fingered fudge and rum mix came in a dark brown wrapper and red lettering. Did ‘you succumba to Rumba?’ Or maybe you just stuck with Twix instead?
Curly Wurlys
If Texan had the coolest ads, then the most cringe worthy tv campaign for me, was that for Curly Wurlys. Remember a grown up Terry Scott dressed in school boy short trousers speaking in an equally silly high pitched voice? Was he pretending to be Just William? Curly Wurly may have been marketed as ‘out chewing them all’ – but the marketing budget would have been better spent on filling in the gaps in long and thin chocolate bars themselves
Topic bar
‘A hazelnut in every bite.’ Did you find one in your bar of Topic? I can remember a tv advert with an ant like creature in showbiz dress dancing with top hat and cane. I can’t remember if there really was a hazelnut in the nougat and caramel bar or if it was a topic of conversation in our family.
Marathon Bar
Of course, in the 1970’s Marathon hadn’t yet become Snickers. Our family household treat after Sunday lunch was a Marathon or a Mars bar. Usually we ate it watching American serials like Space 1999 or the Six Million Dollar man. Sometime the bar would be cut into two pieces and my brother and I would argue as to who had been given the bigger piece. That was the Six Million Dollar question – not whether Steve Austin would save the day.
So, there you have it my fond memories of 1970s chocolate bars and everything that went with it! As ever I’d love to know what you think and if you were, like me brought up in the 70s, what was your favourite chocolate bar?
Leave me a comment in the section below – I read them all!
As for me, I’m off to get myself another Bounty (this time the 2019’s version…)
Why not stay in touch…
I hope you enjoy making this recipe and if you do, I’d love to know what you think! Let me know in the comments below or find me on Instagram or Facebook and add the hashtag #cocoaandheart so that I can see your post.
Or why not subscribe to my weekly newsletter with new recipes and baking tips straight to your mailbox.
Magdalena
Leave a Reply