Lyons Maid Goal! lolly advertising. Click on image to enlarge.
Across the life of this website, there have been a number of Lyons Maid lolly related posts (see below for links).
It was actually some blog related dialogue between John and Tim about the Superman lolly that prompted this post about the Kevin Keegan endorsed “Goal!”. This product was launched a year before its Superman stable mate and, arguably, set the scene for what was to follow later.
Why, because the Kevin Keegan stick was the first plastic moulded character and its production success must have been the proof of concept that led to the more complex, much more expansive Superman project.
As a kid I had a Keegan stick, in fact I kept it in the same tin as my Superman superheroes. I didn’t remember there ever being more than one style of stick and there wasn’t any of the collector excitement that I experienced with Superman. To be frank, I don’t remember enjoying the tri-coloured lolly as much as the cola flavoured Superman either.
John’s comments prompted me to do some research to fill in the blanks in my knowledge.
Here’s what I learned:
The tri coloured lolly also represented three flavours; cream soda, pineapple and strawberry.
There was only one character and it was in the likeness of Keegan. Instead of collecting different figures, the idea behind Goal! was that kids could collect multiples of the same stick. Why would they want to do that? Well if they did, they could stage a football game. Think a lolly stick equivalent of “Striker” (by Parker Games) or “Subbuteo“ (both games were popular in the seventies).
It was actually some blog related dialogue between John and Tim about the Superman lolly that prompted this post about the Kevin Keegan endorsed “Goal!”. This product was launched a year before its Superman stable mate and, arguably, set the scene for what was to follow later.
Why, because the Kevin Keegan stick was the first plastic moulded character and its production success must have been the proof of concept that led to the more complex, much more expansive Superman project.
As a kid I had a Keegan stick, in fact I kept it in the same tin as my Superman superheroes. I didn’t remember there ever being more than one style of stick and there wasn’t any of the collector excitement that I experienced with Superman. To be frank, I don’t remember enjoying the tri-coloured lolly as much as the cola flavoured Superman either.
John’s comments prompted me to do some research to fill in the blanks in my knowledge.
Here’s what I learned:
The tri coloured lolly also represented three flavours; cream soda, pineapple and strawberry.
There was only one character and it was in the likeness of Keegan. Instead of collecting different figures, the idea behind Goal! was that kids could collect multiples of the same stick. Why would they want to do that? Well if they did, they could stage a football game. Think a lolly stick equivalent of “Striker” (by Parker Games) or “Subbuteo“ (both games were popular in the seventies).
Lyons Maid Goal! pitch. Click to enlarge.
Lyons Maid had a merchandising operation that, for an additional monetary consideration (25p), would supply a kid with a five-a-side football pitch. If the child wanted more realism, it could paint its sticks in the colour of its favourite teams and then have a competition.
For my generation, Keegan was a legend (a real life superhero if you will), one the best, most well-known footballers ever. Lyons Maid capitalised on his popularity, packaged a product and advertised it hard. I have attached some imagery that I discovered through my research so that you can enjoy it too.
My Keegan stick is long lost, I haven’t seen one in decades and, whilst I would like a "Kevin" (he would be an honorary superhero), there isn’t the driving passion (as there was with Superman and his buddies) to find an example. But the lolly was still an absolute “goal” as far as I am concerned because look what it led to.
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Related posts
2012 Lyons-maid-supermans-superheroes-ice-lolly.html
04/12/2012 The-sequel-to-the-supermans-superheroes-stick-story
25/02/2015 Fantastic-plastic-perranporth-find
15/02/2017 First-class-ice-lolly-cool-cornwall-catwoman
10/03/2019 Lolly-stick-happiness
19/03/2019 Lyons-maid-supermans-superheroes-lolly-sticks-in-colour
19/03/2019 Lolly Legacy
For my generation, Keegan was a legend (a real life superhero if you will), one the best, most well-known footballers ever. Lyons Maid capitalised on his popularity, packaged a product and advertised it hard. I have attached some imagery that I discovered through my research so that you can enjoy it too.
My Keegan stick is long lost, I haven’t seen one in decades and, whilst I would like a "Kevin" (he would be an honorary superhero), there isn’t the driving passion (as there was with Superman and his buddies) to find an example. But the lolly was still an absolute “goal” as far as I am concerned because look what it led to.
Blog Home
Blog Library
Home
Related posts
2012 Lyons-maid-supermans-superheroes-ice-lolly.html
04/12/2012 The-sequel-to-the-supermans-superheroes-stick-story
25/02/2015 Fantastic-plastic-perranporth-find
15/02/2017 First-class-ice-lolly-cool-cornwall-catwoman
10/03/2019 Lolly-stick-happiness
19/03/2019 Lyons-maid-supermans-superheroes-lolly-sticks-in-colour
19/03/2019 Lolly Legacy
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