HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THERE’S NO WRONG WAY TO EAT A REESE’S CAMPAIGN

Reese’s peanut butter cups were invented in the 1920s by Harry Burnett Reese, who had worked at the dairy of Milton S. Hershey, the founder of Hershey Foods Corporation. Inspired by Hershey’s success, Reese quit his dairy job and founded the H.B. Reese Candy Company. Reese’s peanut butter cups, the company’s most popular product, were shells of Hershey’s milk chocolate filled with specially processed peanut butter. In 1963 the company was sold to Hershey for $23.5 million. The Reese’s brand grew steadily and was expanded to include Reese’s Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups, Reese’s Pieces, Reese’s Nutrageous candy bars, peanut butter Easter eggs and Christmas trees, peanut butter in a jar, baking bits, and peanut-butter-puffs cereal. Reese’s became the top seller among the Hershey brands, which included Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat chocolate bars, York Peppermint Patties, and Twizzlers licorice. In 1996 Hershey also acquired Leaf North America, which made Jolly Rancher, Milk Duds, Whoppers, and PayDay candies. In addition, Hershey sold chocolate syrup, ice-cream toppings, baking products, pasta, peanut butter, milk products, and other foods.
From 1969 to 1988 the tagline in two advertising campaigns for Reese’s peanut butter cups was ‘‘Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together.’’ Commercials