Chewing Gum, Sculptures and the World

Chewing gum as we know it today is an antiquated form that harkens back to the caveman era. The chewing gum industry hasn’t changed much since machine shaped and wrapped bubble gum was first introduced in 1906. Since then consumers have been confined to choosing between stick, ball or square forms of gum, reminiscent of Henry Ford and his black Model T’s.

Yet the sculptor Maurizio Savini shows us that the malleable nature of gum does not have to be subjected to the common square form of yester-year when it has the ability to live on as an expressive art form.

Aside from functional benefits like taste, size and quantity, is it possible to invoke emotion into a product that has historically lacked it? Can the character of gum be fundamentally shifted?  Can Wrigley or Cadbury share an opinion of the world through gum?

Image buying a pack of gum that has a visual grammar that people can read, taste and touch. Maybe the evolution of gum is not in package design but in the shape itself. There seems to be an opportunity to develop a new brand of gum with a conscious. A brand of gum that speaks about and to the world through design.

I wouldn’t mind buying a pack of gum that contained a condensed form of Savini’s sculptures. The impact of the brand might be to bring smiles to people or cause them to think about the world in a new way.

Yes even something as mundane as a gum brand has the potential to influence and maybe even change the world.

5 Gum

Props to 5 Gum for making stick gum relevant again. The category hasn’t seen much change since the 80’s when brands like Winterfresh and Juicy Fruit introduced the slim pack form.

What I like about the new 5 Gum is:

1. it’s specifically designed to open with one hand

2. it’s durable (the packaging can withstands the daily wear and tear of carrying it around better than most gums)

3. it stands out on the shelf (this post might not have happened without an impulse buy)

It also satisfies 2 other needs of mine, presentation and sharing. When i’m out and about and I open the pack it becomes more of a talking point with its sleek black packaging and imagery (the labeling is also visible under a black light).  And for those moments when I don’t feel like sharing I can dig in my pocket, unhook the latch with one finger, unwrap the a stick and pop one in for long lasting taste without anyone ever knowing.

I think Wrigley has done a good job of paying attention to changing consumer habits and then responding with a functional design that has aesthetic appeal.