Board Advertisements on Cards, Episode 4: Nestlé Chunky

Way back in 1978, the NHL allowed teams to start selling advertising space along the boards of their rinks. By the time I was a hockey card–collecting kid in the late 1980s, the trend had caught on. From snack foods to car manufacturers to banks to fast food restaurants, board advertisements really ran the gamut—and they still do.

This series will explore some of the advertisements that also managed to make their way onto hockey cards.

 

Previous entries are available here.

 

 

1988-89 Topps #194, Pierre Turgeon

 

Here's rookie center Pierre Turgeon, getting ready for a face-off. (Note his right hand moved down about a foot from the end of his hockey stick.)

Also note the advertisement on the boards behind him.

NESTLÉ CHUNKY!

 

 

I'm not sure I've ever eaten a Chunky bar, but I do remember seeing them on drug store candy racks back in my 1980s childhood. Simply put, it's a big, thick chunk of chocolate with raisins and roasted peanuts inside. Here's a cross-section:

 

Substantial.

 

And surprising to me, when I was doing some research for this post I discovered that it was introduced to the market way back in the 1930s. The original recipe contained milk chocolate, raisins, cashews, and Brazil nuts. Now that's fancy!

 

Here's a commercial that aired a couple of decades later:

 

 

 

Reporter: I beg your pardon, sir. Do all your people look like you?

 

Flying Saucer Pilot: 'Course not, most of them are homely.

 

Hilarious.

 

As for Pierre Turgeon, he went on to have a tremendous NHL career. I've mentioned him before on this blog, and marveled at how the man is not yet enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Here's a quick career stat line:

1294 GP, 515 G, 812 A, 1327 PTS, 452 PIM, 190 PPG, 86 GWG

And this is where some of those stats place Turgeon in the all-time NHL rankings at the time of this writing:

 

190 power-play goals: 22nd

86 game-winning goals: 25th

1327 points: 34th

515 goals: 40th

 

Almost every player ahead of him in those categories is in the Hall of Fame. Quite a few players behind him, too.

 

It's also worth noting that Turgeon put up nine 30-goal seasons across his career, and was better than a point-per-game player. He averaged almost a point per game in the playoffs, too (97 points in 109 games played). His skating style and play-making ability seemed effortless. A natural talent. Unfortunately, he never played on a Stanley Cup–winning team.

Maybe his teammates were too busy eating Chunky bars like this guy:

 

 

 

And I think I'll conclude episode 4 of Board Advertisements on Cards right there.

 

How many of you have ever eaten a Chunky bar? Share your thoughts in the comment section, and thanks for reading!