Smash is a brand of Instant mashed potatoes in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was launched in the United Kingdom in the 1960s by

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...

, which was primarily a manufacturer of confectionery at the time. Smash was reasonably successful. However, it was not until 1974 that Smash became popular in the

convenience food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily p ...

market after Cadbury launched an advertising campaign by agency Boase Massimi Pollitt featuring the Smash Martians, who would watch

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

preparing mashed potato the traditional way on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

instead of using potato granules, and laugh at them. The adverts of 1970s and their catchphrase, 'For Mash get Smash', were voted television advert of the century by ''Campaign Magazine'', and second-best television advert of all time in a poll of April 2000 conducted by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, beaten by

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ...

' '' Surfer'' advertisement from 1999. The brand has since been sold by Cadbury and is now owned by

Premier Foods Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, Lyons, Sharwood's, Loy ...

who, using their

Batchelors Batchelors is a popular brand of predominantly dried food products. The Bachelors company was founded in 1895 in Sheffield, England by William Batchelor, initially specialising in canned vegetables. It released its first dried soup in 1949, a ...

brand, launched a 'healthier recipe' version in 2006.

Accolades

The original 1970s advertisements have been featured in several "best ever television advertisements" lists.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Premier Foods' list of brands
Cadbury brands Potatoes Premier Foods brands Instant foods and drinks