Ready for a gumfight? (1979)

Wrigley's introduced a new brand of gum in 1979. Hubba Bubba bubble gum needed a specific advertising gimmick to get the public's attention, so they went with an Old West theme.

The Gumfighter (Don Collier) rides into town in a parody of those Western shootouts, his arrival heralded by what you might call the town jester (Dub Taylor, later of Hee Haw, who was in a bazillion Westerns back in the day).




Wrigley's discontinued Hubba Bubba in the 90's, likely due to declining sales, then brought it back in 2004.

Here's a curious little sidebar. Turns out Wrigley's had been bought out by Mars, Inc. some years back. Recently, Mars reassigned two of their products, Starburst and Skittles to the Wrigley brand. Hmmmmm.