It’s the end of an era for Griffin's lovers as the company announced the beloved Cookie Bear mascot is being removed from packaging after 57 years.
With his bowtie and iconic catchphrase ‘dum-de-doo’, the Cookie Bear has been a lasting memory in Kiwi kids' childhoods.
First created for Hudson’s in the early 1970s, the Cookie Bear grew massively in popularity throughout the decade before being sold to Griffin’s in 1989.
The bear was so well-liked it even had a fan club where members would receive a card from him on their birthday.
The reason behind the removal is to “refresh” the packaging and “make it clearer and easier to find your favourite biscuits,” Griffin’s told the Herald.
But fans are not happy about it.
“My childhood is slipping away from me, and I’m not ready to let go,” one commenter said.
Another Cookie Bear lover asked: “What is with modern companies sucking out all of the individuality and personality from their branding?”
“All fun and joy must be neutralised," said a third.
One person might have summarised it best when they wrote: “Dum-de-doo is dum-de-done."
It’s not the first time a change to the iconic Cookie Bear has sparked controversy.
Five years ago, Griffin’s changed the design of the bear, and biscuit lovers had similar reactions.
“Oh Cookie Bear… what did they dumpty-do to you?” one comment read.
“They took a dumpty-do on him,” another replied.
“I’m gonna write them a letter and tell them I’m not buying their biscuits anymore," one outraged fan wrote. "Maybe I’ll post my Cookie Bear Club membership certificate back to them.”
At its peak, the Cookie Bear Club had 162,000 memberships warranting a monthly column in NZ Woman’s Weekly where fans could play games, read jokes and Cookie Bear messages.
Hudson’s ex-marketing manager, Mike Groves, told RNZ in 2016 that the company had to hire staff to sort through the constant delivery of fan mail, as thousands of children would write to Cookie Bear.
“A bit like people write to Father Christmas [...] Cookie Bear was the same, people sort of formed a bond with him.
It sure is sad news for many generations of Kiwi kids as we reminisce over all the joy the Cookie Bear brought us.
