Wotsits is a brand of cheese puffs sold by Walkers. The most common form are cheese flavoured curly shapes. However over the years various other shapes (such as waffle-shaped Wotsits) and flavours (such as prawn cocktail and BBQ beef) have also been sold. "Limited edition" Wotsits have also appeared on more than one occasion. The brand name occurs in the singular, "Wotsit", referring to an individual corn puff. Like many such names, it is an allusion to a common word, in this case the slang term "whatsit", to which it is phonetically identical. Wotsits packaging often come with a joke or trivia section on the back. The brand was previously owned by Golden Wonder, but was sold off separately to Walkers when Golden Wonder changed hands in 2002.[1] Prior to this, Walkers sold a rival known as Cheetos on the UK market. In 2003, the advertising agency, Abbott Mead Vickers, made a public apology when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health brought to light a private brief that it had made to Frito-Lay (Walkers' owners) where it proposed encouraging children (4 to 9 years old) to believe that “Wotsits are for me — I'm going to buy them when I get the chance and pester Mum for them when she next goes shopping.”.[2] Another variety of Wotsits were "Mealtime Potato Shapes", made from potato and cheese and meant to be baked in the oven.[3][4] They were launched in 2000. Mealtime Potato Shapes have been discontinued for many years. In February 2007 Wotsits were re-launched in new packaging (along with other Walkers brands such as Quavers and Monster Munch) to coincide with the new usage of Sunseed oil in their ingredients.
References
- ^ archive.theargus.co.uk; article dated 28 May, 2002, retrieved 27 October, 2006.
- ^ publications.parliament.uk and bivda.co.uk, both retrieved 27 October, 2006 (Note: These contain the referenced information, but are not necessarily the sources used by the original author).
- ^ Golden Wonder Wotsits launches non-snack food product, Management Today (via clickmt.com). Article dated 2000-11-16, retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ The Wonder of potato, Catering Update via caterersearch.com. Article dated 2000-11-01, retrieved 2007-01-21.
External links
- "PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF FOOD INDUSTRY ADVERTISING DOCUMENTS", Written evidence, UK Parliament Select Committee on Health
