Zu Zu Ginger Snaps
Zu Zu Ginger Snaps were round drop cookies produced beginning in 1901 by National Biscuit Company (NBC) – later changed to Nabisco – until the early 1980s. The snaps were "a spicy combination of ginger and sugar-cane molasses"[1] and came in a distinctive yellow box with reddish type.
The mascot was the Zu Zu Clown.[2] The Clown became central to an advertising campaign which included ads, signs, free clown costumes for children and two sizes of clown dolls.[3]
Origin of Name
In Out of the Cracker Barrel by William Cahn (a book commissioned by the National Biscuit Company), the name of the product is said to have possibly originated from a character in the play Forbidden Fruit by Dion Boucicault. Adolphus Green, NBC's first chairman, supposedly saw the play and adapted the name of the character "Zulu."
According to Laura Wattenberg in her book The Baby Name Wizard, the name ZuZu "comes from Zuzana, a Czech/Slovak form of Susana."
In popular culture
In the movie It's a Wonderful Life, the youngest Bailey daughter is named Zuzu (played by Karolyn Grimes). George Bailey (played by James Stewart), her father, refers to her as "my little gingersnap." The movie character's name is spelled Zuzu (one word, one upper-case z) possibly to avoid any legal issues.
Notes
- ↑ Cahn, William (1969). Out of the Cracker Barrel: From Animal Crackers to ZuZu's. Simon and Schuster. p. 104. ISBN 0-671-20360-6.
- ↑ "That Clown, Those Eyes". Zu Zu Ginger Snaps. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ↑ "Zu Zu Clown Dolls". Zu Zu Ginger Snaps. Retrieved 2 April 2016.