Smash (instant mashed potato) facts for kids
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| Owner | Premier Foods |
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| Introduced | 1960s |
| Markets | United Kingdom |
| Previous owners | Cadbury |
| Registered as a trademark in | United Kingdom (1973) |
| Tagline | "For Mash Get Smash" |
Smash is a well-known brand of instant mashed potatoes in the United Kingdom. It offers a quick and easy way to make mashed potatoes. You just add hot water or milk to the potato flakes, and it's ready!
Smash was first launched in the 1960s by a company called Cadbury. At that time, Cadbury was mostly famous for making chocolates and sweets. Smash became quite successful because it was a convenient food option.
The Famous Smash Martians
Smash became really popular in 1974, thanks to a clever advertising campaign. Cadbury worked with an advertising agency to create commercials featuring funny characters called the Smash Martians.
What the Martians Did
In these adverts, the Smash Martians would watch humans on television. They saw people preparing mashed potatoes the old-fashioned way. This meant peeling, boiling, and mashing real potatoes. The Martians found this very amusing and would laugh at the humans for not using instant potato granules like Smash.
The catchphrase from these adverts was "For Mash get Smash." This phrase became very famous.
Awards for the Adverts
The Smash Martians adverts from the 1970s were very successful. They were even voted the "television advert of the century" by Campaign magazine. In April 2000, a poll by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 ranked it as the second-best television advert of all time. It was only beaten by a Guinness advertisement from 1999.
Who Owns Smash Now
Over the years, the Smash brand was sold by Cadbury. Today, it is owned by Premier Foods. This company also owns the Batchelors brand. In 2006, Premier Foods launched a "healthier recipe" version of Smash under the Batchelors name.
