No Fig Deal

Fig Newtons have been around since 1891. Yet giant cookie producer Nabisco has suddenly decided to drop “fig” from the name of its classic, chewy snack. “[T]he New York Times reports that the name change is a part of the brand’s attempt to appear more trendy after years of declining sales,” says Time magazine. “On the Richter scale of hip fruits, from goji berries to antioxidant-filled pomegranates, figs fall somewhere near laxative-y prunes. The new advertising plan features commercials intended to highlight Newtons’ other fruit flavors. Aimed at baby boomers, the commercials are also intended to be more cerebral.”

Oh, pleeeeaaassse ... Fig Newtons are Fig Newtons, no matter what the advertising department at Nabisco might want to call them, and I’ve been eating those treats ever since I was a kid, back when ads like this one were popular.