Smash (instant mashed potato)
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Smash is the most popular brand of instant mashed potato in the UK. The preparation of Smash is extremely simple, making the product popular with those short of time or lacking inclination to manually prepare mashed potato. The granules are placed in a bowl and boiling water is added and stirred producing a passable mashed potato substitute within seconds.
The innovative product was launched in the UK by Cadbury (better known as a manufacturer of confectionery) in the 1960s with reasonable success.
It was not until the 1970s that Smash became popular in the convenience food market. Cadbury ran a 1974 TV advertising campaign featuring the now famous Smash Martians, a family of Martian robots who would watch humans laboriously preparing mashed potato the traditional way on television. The robots would laugh as they heard how the "Earth people peeled their own potatoes, boiled them for 20 of their Earth minutes, then smashed them all to bits", instead of using Smash. The catchphrase 'For Mash Get Smash' is still an iconic and memorable advertising image within the UK. The 1970s adverts were voted TV ad of the century by Campaign Magazine, and 2nd best television advert of all time in a 2000 poll conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4.
The brand has since been sold by Cadbury's and is now owned by Premier Foods. Smash continues to be popular in the UK, selling 140 million servings a year. Many people agree that it does not quite capture the texture of real mashed potato, but (given the time saving) the approximation is clearly close enough for those who consume it.[citation needed] Some consumers of Smash are even said to prefer the creamier texture of Smash to the real thing, especially younger consumers who have become accustomed to eating Smash in place of home-made mashed potato.[citation needed]
In recent years, flavoured varieties of Smash have also been made available, including Fried Onion, Cheddar & Onion, Smoked Bacon and Buttery.
