Iconic Brands: The Slurpee

Stumbled upon in the 50’s, the Slurpee was created to provide ice cold refreshment to the masses.

The Slurpee’s ‘love to hate’ elements include staining tongues blue and red, containing ridiculous amounts of sugar/additives and inducing painful brain freeze.

It’s the epitome of artificial and unsophisticated, but that’s part of the Slurpee’s charm.

Although, the reason the Slurpee holds iconic status is because it represented a small (but important) exploration into fun and excess when I was young.

Walking into shops as a child and seeing the mystifying plastic tanks of blue and red slush never failed to amaze and draw me in.

It was essentially like the iced drink equivalent of ‘The Pied Piper of Hamlin’.

From its luminous colours to its almost psychedelic-looking packaging, the Slurpee knew it was the brash candied devil in disguise and it simply didn’t care.

You should ask my parents as its immense sugar content usually ‘entertained’ them to some casual after-school hyperactivity from me.

Like many children though, I never learnt my lessons (and to be honest I didn’t want to!).

Instead, I’d buy another and embark giddily on my next risky adventure into the land of ice cold and saccharinely sweet.