Bubble Yum Number Yum

Red background with white text and blue shadowing.

Introduced in 1973 by Life Saver’s Inc., Bubble Yum bubble gum was known as the first soft bubble gum to be marketed in the United States. Bubble Yum switched hands in a buy-out of Life Saver’s Inc. by the Nabisco corporation in 1981, and then by Hershey in 2000. A rumor began in 1977 that claimed the softness of Bubble Yum was because the company used spider eggs in the recipe. This sent shock waves through the Life Saver company as they tried to put the rumors to rest spending nearly $60,000 in newspaper advertisements cautioning people not to believe lies they hear.

A prize contest was run in 1979 to be “Number Yum.” In order to enter, children had to watch a Bubble Yum commercial on TV and count how many times the phrase “Number Yum” was used. The winner would get a dream room which included a fully loaded jukebox and a Brunswick pinball machine. The “Number Yum” slogan was used continuously in print ads until roughly 1984.