Mounds is a candy bar made by The Hershey Company, consisting of shredded, sweetened coconut coated in dark chocolate. The company also produces Almond Joy bars, in which the coconut is topped by whole almonds and the coating is milk chocolate. The two products share a common packaging/logo design, but Mounds uses a red color scheme while Almond Joy uses blue. Mounds' original slogan, "Indescribably Delicious", was created when Mounds ran a contest to come up with the best two words to sell candy. Leon Weiss, who came up with the slogan, won $10. Mounds continues to use the slogan in advertising and on the wrapper. Mounds uses a packaging and logo design similar to its sister product, with Almond Joy's blue replaced by red, and the two candies are often advertised together. The candy's 1970s ad campaign used a jingle, "Sometimes you feel like a nut / sometimes you don't / Almond Joy's got nuts / Mounds don't", written by Leon Carr. A limited-edition Mounds Island Orange candy bar was introduced in 2006 with orange-colored and orange-flavored coconut.
History
Originally invented by candy maker Vincent Nitido of West Haven, Connecticut, Mounds was created in 1920 as a single piece for 5 cents. In 1929, the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company purchased the line and began production. The format changed to two pieces that still sold for 5 cents, with the price rising to 10 cents after World War II. Mounds was made in milk chocolate as well. During World War II, Peter Paul was faced with severe shortages of sugar and coconut which had been shipped from the Philippines before war broke out. Rather than sacrifice quality, the company discontinued some of its lesser selling brands and concentrated production on the Mounds candy bar. Over the years, Peter Paul added several products to its line, including the Almond Joy candy bar and York Peppermint Patties. Cadbury and Peter Paul merged in 1978, and Hershey Foods purchased the company's U.S. operations in 1988.
In the 1985 filmBack to the Future, Mounds is in exhibition for sale at the counter's desk in the 1955 fountain parlor. In Family Guy, Joe Swanson's favorite candy bar is the Mounds bar. In the episode "Finders Keepers", Joe states that he has eaten them "two or three times a day for the past 25 years". Mounds is mentioned in Philip Roth's debut novel, Goodbye, Columbus. The main character's aunt and uncle are described as "sharing a Mounds Bar in the cindery darkness of their alley". In an opening monologue on NBC's television showSaturday Night Live, comedian Louis C.K. compared his love for Mounds bars with a child molester's love for molesting children.
