If you’ve got kids then there’s a good chance you’ve heard of and experienced Horrible Histories. Wanna know why kids like Horrible Histories? Two words, blood ‘n’ guts. In truth there’s a whole lot more besides, but a key reason why Horrible Histories is such a success is they bring the yucky, gooey, bloody, deadly bits that kids love, into learning. Take a quick look:
A coat parachute – what a dumb idea! Now, where was I…? Oh yeah, blood ‘n’ guts.
Keira and I were watching TV a few days ago when a Frubes advert came on. ‘I like these ads’, I said, ‘they’re the ones with rip their heads off and suck their guts out aren’t they Keira?’ Keira looked at me somewhat crestfallen. ‘Not any more Dad, they’ve made them rubbish – take a look’. And Keira was right. Where previously Frubes glorified in the deathly delights of ripping off a frubes head before sucking its guts out, we now have to tolerate ‘Rip their tops off and eat them all up’. According to Keira that is ‘totes lame’.
I looked into this and though the manufacturers of Frubes have remained silent on the matter, the Advertising Standards Authority confirmed they had not approached anyone at Frube Towers regarding complaints or a change. I did see a few folk on Mumsnet were having a whinge about it, hmmm?
This blandifying of what was once a fab slogan strikes me as a pretty dumb thing to do to your customers, what do your kids think about it? And in the meantime, here’s a little trip down memory lane for old time’s sake: