Orbit (gum)

Orbit Gum for sale at a stand in Barcelona, Spain (March 2007).

Orbit is a brand of sugarless chewing gum from the Wrigley Company. In the United States, where it was re-launched in 2001,^[1] it is sold in cardboard boxes with 14 individually wrapped pieces of gum per package. In the UK, where it was launched in 1977,^[2] it was sold as a traditional long-stick gum. Wrigley's recently introduced the 14 package (as in the United States) in the UK.

Orbit White, packaged in blister packs of 12 pieces, was released to compete with Cadbury Adams's Trident White gum in 2001.^[3]

As of May 2009, Orbit has come out with a new gum subline. Orbit Mist (called Excel Mist in Canada) is the new Orbit gum subline that has "micro-bursts," small polka dot chips filled with a flavor contrast to the rest of the stick. It is also meant to create "a hydrating sensation", as claimed on the box. There are three flavors: Peppermint Spray, Watermelon Spring and Mango Surf. It is advertised as a "premium gum."

History

Orbit was launched in 1944 in the United States as a replacement brand by Wrigley due to rationing of gum-making ingredients in World War II.

The gum returned to American shelves in the late 1970s. Flavors included bubble gum, which was marketed through a TV ad featuring a singing robot. The gum was removed from the shelves in the 1980s due to a suspicion that the sweetener might cause cancer.

The gum was relaunched in 2001. The advertising campaign for Orbit is centered around the Orbit Gum Girl, a British character who always appears in awkward situations wearing all white, a scarf and a smile. The actress who plays the Orbit Gum Girl is Farris Patton, replacing Vanessa Branch.^[4]

References