USA TODAY International Edition
Animal crackers are uncaged after 116 years
After 116 years, animal crackers are no longer behind bars.
The packaging of Barnum’s Animals, a classic Nabisco snack, doesn’t depict the exotic creatures in cages anymore. Instead, a zebra, an elephant, a lion, a giraffe and a gorilla are out roaming among grass and trees.
The change comes at the urging of animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In April 2016, it pointed out to Nabisco’s parent company, Mondelez International, that circuses often beat, shock, chain and whip animals to intimidate them into performing tricks.
“It’s probably one of, if not the oldest, (product) in our portfolio,” said Mondelez spokeswoman Kimberly Fontes.
Fontes declined to say how much the packaging redesign cost the company.
But the animal crackers’ name isn’t being changed. It’s a reference to showman P.T. Barnum, whose name was long part of the most famous circus in U.S. history, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, billed as the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
Even though the cage bars on the the front of the animal crackers box were small, some people pay close attention to packaging, said Bob Killian, a Chicago-based branding expert.
“They can’t lose too much of the look and feel,” he said. “What took them so long? There’s nobody who is pro-cage, so I don’t see what they have to lose.”