Fat Frogs are green ice-pops made by
HB in the shape of a
frog. They have been on the market for about 10 years or so.
The advertising jingle went like this:
"My name's Fat Frog, I live in a swamp, and I play my guitar like a Fat Frog.
Fat Frog, Frog, frog, frog.
HB make 'im he's a real fat frog.
He's got a big fat tummy like no other water-ice,
lots of fruity flavour from his toes to his eyes,
Fat Frog, Frog, frog, frog,
HB make 'im he's a real fat frog."
Much to the dismay of a generation, Fat Frogs were mysteriously taken off the market for several years, until HB finally brought back the Fat Frog ice lolly in 2001 with an innovative and exciting advertising campaign: HB set up a mock political party called FOFF, or Friends of Fat Frog, which campaigned for the 'Release of Fat Frog' in advertisements around Irish third level institutions, they also set up an e-mail campaign and advertised on radio for over four weeks. The company said the response was unbelievable, resulting in HB selling more fat frogs in one week than it aimed to sell in a month, proving the popularity of this chubby amphibian!. They even had the French going by campaigning at the Ireland-France international soccer match, where HB gave out 10,000 green hands calling for the release of Fat Frog. The French thought it was somehow directed at them and HB and the fat-frog campaign ended up getting coverage on French television! Source: Sunday Business Post, 5/6/2001
Fat Frog is also the name of a cocktail, which is the latest craze to hit the pub scene in Dublin. It is named after the ubiquitous ice-lolly, is the same shade of green as its namesake, and tastes not entirely dissimilar. It is made by mixing a bottle of Orange Bacardi Breezer, a bottle of Blue WKD, and a bottle of Smirnoff Ice. It is very refreshing and a little too drinkable. Though usually expensive, it gets you hammered, and is great for parties, be warned though, it also starts people reminiscing about the confectionary they rotted their teeth on in childhood, most of which is, strangely, no longer available