Nesquik

Nestlé Nesquik logo

Mexican Nesquik tin.

Nesquik is a family of milk beverage products made by the Nestlé corporation. It began as a chocolate powdered flavoring mix in the United States in 1948, as Nestlé Quik. In the 1950s, it was launched in Europe as Nesquik. In countries with the Quik term (including the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Australia, where it was originally marketed under the name Nestlé's Quik), the name was changed to the worldwide brand Nesquik in 1999. At the same time, General Mills introduced Nesquik cereal, a breakfast cereal that "turns milk into chocolate milk."

Product line

Powders

• Nestle Quik Chocolate Powder was introduced in 1948.
• Nestle Quik Banana Powder was introduced 1954.
• Nestle Quik Strawberry Powder was introduced prior to 1970.
• Nestle Quik Vanilla Powder was introduced in 1979
• Additional powder flavors have been introduced, but discontinued: Cherry, (1989–1995; still sold in Australia and New Zealand), Cream (1997), Triple Chocolate (2002–2006), Vanilla (2003–2006), Honey (2001–2006), Crème Soda (sold in South Africa until recently).

• Nestle Quik Chocolate No Sugar Added was introduced in 1993. This product contains artificial sweetener (sucralose).

Syrup

• Nestle Quik Chocolate Syrup was introduced in 1981. Strawberry was added in 1989. Mixed flavours, such as Strawberry Banana and Chocolate Caramel, have also been produced.

Ready-to-Drink

• Nestle introduced Ready-to-Drink Quik Chocolate Milk in 1984. Strawberry was added in 1987, and Banana was added in 1990. Vanilla and Double Chocolate are also available.
• Fat Free Quik Chocolate Milk was introduced in 1998.
• Nesquik Milkshakes come in Chocolate and Strawberry. Chocolate Caramel was introduced in 2007.
• Nestle introduced Nesquik "Magic" Straws in 2008

The ready-to-drink versions of Nesquik ended production in 2009 in the UK.

Others

• Nestlé Nesquik chocolate candy bars (back then, they were known as Nestlé Quik candy bars before the name change).
• "Nestlé Nesquik" breakfast cereal, made of chocolate-flavored rice and corn puffs, is produced by Cereal Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between General Mills and Nestlé. This, like some other chocolate breakfast cereals, flavors the milk.
• A Nesquik flavor of Nestlé hot cocoa mix features bunny-shaped marshmallows and advertises 38% more calcium than regular hot cocoa.

Advertising campaigns

Jimmy Nelson, Danny O'Day and Farfel

In 1955, Nestlé hired ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson to do its advertising on children's television programming. Nelson's dummy Danny O'Day would say that Quik "makes milk taste...like a mill-ion" (dollars). Danny and a dog named Farfel would finish the commercials by singing Nestlé's brand-new signature jingle:

Danny: N-E-S-T-L-E-S,

Nestlé's makes the very best...

Farfel: Choc-'late

Farfel would finish with the sound of his jaw snapping shut. This effect was accidentally invented when Nelson's sweatty finger (a result of nervousness) slipped off the mouth control during his first audition in front of the Nestlé executives. This would normally be a serious technical mistake for a ventriloquist, but they actually liked it so much they insisted Nelson keep it in. Nelson performed the jingle that way for ten years.^[1]

Nesquik Bunny (a.k.a. Quiky)

Early bunny mascot appeared on Strawberry Quik cans.

A cartoon Quik Bunny first appeared on the cans of the strawberry flavor when it was introduced. Later, an anthropomorphic animated bunny wearing a large red "Q" on a collar-like necklace, was introduced in television commercials as the new chocolate Quik mascot. He debuted in 1973. The character is voiced by Barry Gordon.

He sings a new jingle in a rock-and-roll rhythm:

"It's so rich and thick and choco-lik,

That you can't...drink it slow...

if it's Quik!"

Then he vocalizes only four notes "oh-bo-de-oh" and instead of vocalizing the fifth note which is "doh", he immediately sucks all of his drink down through a straw, then finishes the rhyme by forlornly intoning, "That's the saddest sound I know."

In France, Italy and Canada, he is known as Quicky the Nesquik Bunny. France and Greece first had another mascot for Nesquik, which was a fat yellow dog cartoon monster called Groquik—a variation of Gros Quik ("Fat Quik"), created by Gilbert Mast and puppeteered by Yves Brunier. In Greece the mascot was called Κουικάρας (or Quikáras--English:"Big Quik") He was later replaced by Quiky, much to the discontent of fans who protested against the lack of a sympathetic character and the Americanism. In Portugal, the mascot was a kangaroo, Kangurik, which was replaced by Quiky in 1989/1990. In Italy, before the arrival of Quicky, the mascot was an anthropomorphized box of Nesquik called Mr.Nesquik.

In the USA by 2001, the Quik Bunny was renamed the Nesquik Bunny and his "Q" changed to an "N" when the brand name was changed. He appears on the packaging and marketing and has appeared in the product's television commercials. The artist who made the redesign of the Bunny for its global implantation in the nineties, was the cartoonist Ramon Maria Casanyes.^{[citation needed]}

Appearances in other media

• The Quik Bunny was parodied in the animated television series Drawn Together episode "Unrestrainable Trainable" where he was found engaging in sexual activity with three of the main characters, and stunned at the contents of his "chocolate milk".
• A promotional comic with Superman
• The Adventures of Quik Bunny comic
• Southern Baptist minister and comedian Reverend Grady Nutt told a joke in his stand-up act in which a minister, possessing a suitably charismatic voice, could read the ingredients off a box of Nestle's Quik, putting the proper meaning and interpretation into words like niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, "and people would stand weepin' and volunteerin' for foreign missions!"

See also

• Chocolate milk
• Hot chocolate
• Flavored milk
• Ovaltine
• Milkshake

References

1. ^ J.C. Johnson (2005). "Jimmy Nelson: Warm Memories of Danny O' Day, Farfel, & Chaaawwwwclate". Talking Comedy.com. http://www.talkingcomedy.com/SI-Vent-2005/legends-siVENT05/JN-LGND-siVENT05.html. Retrieved 2010-11-16. 

External links

• Official U.S. site
• Nesquik on Nestlé UK