Salvador Dalí’s Chupa Chups
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Surrealist Salvador Dalí has another claim to fame. Known for melting clocks in the desert in his piece, The Persistence of Memory, Dalí also has a hand in the melt-in-your-mouth sweet Chupa Chup‘s, the bright lollipop of Spanish origin that comes in a delectable assortment of flavors and colors. The artist designed the candy’s infamously cheerful daisy logo.
Chupa Chups’ creator Enric Bernat concocted the idea for the candy after enduring constant scolding from his mother during his childhood for having sticky fingers. In 1958, he devised a solution to grimy digits by proposing the idea of a “bonbon on a stick.” He envisioned the product “would be like eating a sweet with a fork,” said the candy’s website.
Originally, Bernat wanted to call the dessert “GOL,” thinking of the candy as a soccer ball with one’s open mouth being a net, according to Fast Co.Design. This idea was scrapped for the agency-proposed “Chupa Chups,” derived from the Spanish word “chupa” which when translated means “to suck.”
Chupa Chups grew in popularity, acquiring a catchy jingle. Yet, the product’s branding wasn’t quite polished. Bernat lamented over coffee with his artist friend, Dalí, who–legend has it–conceived of the now iconic daisy design on the spot sketching it onto the corner of a newspaper. Fast Co.Design asserts his swift sketching and willingness to take on the project stem from nothing more than the offering up of monetary compensation.
“The guy rarely turned it down, causing surrealist poet André Breton to nickname him ‘Avida Dollars’–an anagram of Dalí’s name that roughly translates to ‘eager for cash,’” Fast Co.Design notes.
Yet, whether Dalí was driven by greed or goodness is inconsequential in light of the logo’s lingering success since its 
inception in 1969. Not only did the daisy itself become characteristic of the candy, but its location on the wrapper (another Dalí influence) became monumental.
“Acutely aware of presentation, Dalí insisted that his design be placed on top of the lolly, rather than the side, so that it could always be viewed intact,” Phaidon writes. ”It’s proved to be one of the most enduring pieces of branding ever and one that’s still used today, four billion sales later.”
In addition to its unique concept and artwork, Chupa Chups were the first candy to be placed in sight for children on top of the counter, rather than out-of-reach behind it.
Chupa Chups brightly colored heads still grace lollipop trees and candy stores around the world today; and according to Phaidon, the sweets have enjoyed more than four billion sales.
Pretty sweet.
