Milky Way (chocolate bar)

Ingredients

The American Milky Way bar has 240 calories in each 52.2 gram bar; the Milky Way Midnight has 220 calories in each 50 gram bar; and the Milky Way Simply Caramel bar has 250 calories in each 54 gram bar.[7]

Variations

By 1926, two variants were available: chocolate nougat with milk chocolate coating, and vanilla nougat with a dark chocolate coating, each selling for 5¢. In June 1932, the bar was marketed as a two-piece bar, and four years later, in 1936, the chocolate and vanilla were separated. The vanilla version with a dark chocolate coating was called "Forever Yours" and was marketed under this name until 1979, then Milky Way Dark was reintroduced in 1989.[8] Later "Milky Way Dark" was renamed "Milky Way Midnight".[9] In 2010, the Milky Way Simply Caramel bar went on sale, a version with caramel covered in milk chocolate and without nougat. In 2011, Mars introduced a small size (marketed as fun size) Simply Caramel bar. A salted caramel version has since been introduced. Milky Way Simply Caramel was discontinued in the summer of 2023.

In 2012, Milky Way Caramel Apple Minis went on sale as a limited offer for the Halloween season.

In late summer of 2018, Milky Way Fudge, which substitutes chocolate fudge nougat for malt nougat, was introduced nationwide.[10]

In 2024, Mars and Jel Sert collaborated to market Milky Way-flavored pudding and pie mix.[11]

Marketing

In 1935, Mars used the marketing slogan "The sweet you can eat between meals,"[6] later using "At work, rest and play, you get three great tastes in a Milky Way." By 2006, Mars used the slogan "Comfort in every bar" in the U.S. and most recently "Life's better the Milky Way."[12]

In November 2012, a new print and digital advertising campaign was launched in the U.S. called "Sorry, I was eating a Milky Way". The campaign portrayed the comical aftermath of what happens after someone (off camera) is distracted due to eating a Milky Way bar. This campaign originated from the suggestion that eating a Milky Way bar may be a slow, involved process.[13]

Variations

In Australia, a flavored milk drink called Milky Way Shake was sold from 1991 to 1993.[18][19] A "Milky Way Lucky Dip" was also later sold described as a "Kinder Surprise clone".[20]

Also available in Europe are Milky Way Crispy Rolls, chocolate-covered wafer rolls with milk-cream fillings, first launched in Germany in 1994.[21] Milky Way cakes have also been marketed.[22]

A variant of the Milky Way bar branded 'Milky Way Magic Stars', created by Barnaby Edwards, is marketed by Mars in Britain, first launched in 1995.[21] It consists of small aerated chocolate star shapes with each star engraved with a different smiley face, representing one of the "magic star" characters portrayed on the packaging and referenced in the advertising: Pop Star, Jess Star, Bright Star, Super Star, Twinkle Star, Falling Star, Happy Star, Sport Star, Clever Star and Baby Star.[23]

Similar to Nutella (sans the signature hazelnuts), a Milky Way spread exists, although its availability is very limited. It was sold for several years in Australia, starting circa 1997,[24] packaged in a jar with the spread itself layered in brown-and-white stripes. It is also available for import from Germany, although this version has the colours in two separate partitions.

Mars also formerly sold the Flyte bar, which was identical to the old-style chocolate flavored Milky Way, marketed in twin packs and discontinued in 2015.[25]

Marketing

A long-running advertising slogan for the product in the United Kingdom and Australia was, "The sweet you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite".[26] In 1991, the British Health Education Authority and anti-sugar lobbyists both complained, without success, to the Independent Television Commission that such advertising encouraged children to eat sweets between meals. The ITC agreed with Mars that its advertisements in fact encouraged restrained eating.[27]

Once marketed as a snack food that would not intrude on regular meals, modern marketing portrays the Milky Way as a snack reducing mealtime hunger and curbing the appetite between meals.[28]

A widely known advertisement was debuted in 1989, featuring a red 1951 Buick Roadmaster and a vehicle that resembles a blue 1959 Cadillac Series 62 (lacking its dual headlights) racing, with the former eating everything in sight and the latter eating a Milky Way. The advertisement ends with the bridge to Dinnertown being out and the now fat red car being too heavy to jump the gap while the blue car makes the jump. The advertisement returned albeit edited in 2009, removing the claim that the Milky Way is not an appetite spoiler.[29][30]