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Idris wrote:I was initially highly sceptical of this variation but, given the evidence, I have now come to accept it as a being a genuine Lesney product. (The question which remains is "exactly what type of product is it?".)

Going back to David ´vetrad´s observation of resting marks on the lower body edge these yellow SF19s would appear to be tray painted models which means hand made by the dozens by R & D rather than by the gross on the line. Going by the fact that this shade of candy yellow may only to have been used in volume on Setra coaches then these could in fact be trials for this extra bright shade of yellow before bulk order was made from paint supplier if the alternative theory of them being painted at the same time as the matching Setras doesnt stick. If only dozens were made they could in fact have been handed out to sales reps and marketing people rather than customers............ I wonder if we will ever see YUM YUM SF19s in any other candy colours like SF23 VW blue ???

I'm thinking these models were color trials as well and my theory is that when they were presented for opinions by R&D department, that someone said, "that looks like Yum Yum Yellow" - which seems was a catch phrase at the time, regarding "shark tests" on the color yellow- I can envision someone going to the label department, coming up with a few labels to slap on them and saying, here ya go, Yum Yum Yellow !
I really don't think they are promotions for a company. Seems if you were doing a promotion, you would want "what it was" you were selling advertised, such as, "Yum Yum Donuts" or "Yum Yum Crisps". "Yum Yum" by itself seems too vague for promotional purposes.

zBret

zBret wrote:I'm thinking these models were color trials as well and my theory is that when they were presented for opinions by R&D department, that someone said, "that looks like Yum Yum Yellow" - which seems was a catch phrase at the time, regarding "shark tests" on the color yellow- I can envision someone going to the label department, coming up with a few labels to slap on them and saying, here ya go, Yum Yum Yellow !
I really don't think they are promotions for a company. Seems if you were doing a promotion, you would want "what it was" you were selling advertised, such as, "Yum Yum Donuts" or "Yum Yum Crisps". "Yum Yum" by itself seems too vague for promotional purposes.

zBret

You would expect perhaps racing numbers on something like this, so that is possible. There's still room for branding on the sides though.

johnboy wrote:[There's still room for branding on the sides though.

A logo would sit very nicely on either side......

zBret wrote:I'm thinking these models were color trials as well and my theory is that when they were presented for opinions by R&D department, that someone said, "that looks like Yum Yum Yellow" - which seems was a catch phrase at the time, regarding "shark tests" on the color yellow- I can envision someone going to the label department, coming up with a few labels to slap on them and saying, here ya go, Yum Yum Yellow !
I really don't think they are promotions for a company. Seems if you were doing a promotion, you would want "what it was" you were selling advertised, such as, "Yum Yum Donuts" or "Yum Yum Crisps". "Yum Yum" by itself seems too vague for promotional purposes.

zBret

We have never seen any prior evidence that Lesney in the 1970s used this technique of printing upon clear tape to create labels - popular with other makers particularly the Spanish toy makers but not Lesney. In the mid 1970s there was a brand of chocolate and strawberry flavoured milk called ´´Yumbo´´ and the tv commercials to support this used the slogan ´´YUM YUM YUMBO´´.
I expect these yellow SF19 cars left the factory plain and were decorated by whoever received them which explains why 1 in the auction had no trace of the label. If that happened to be the marketing department or agency for Mars and they only had dozens of them perhaps as gifts for all management & sales reps who attended a presentation for the 1971 planned UK launch of the new ´´Munch´´ bar then the message to their own people would be crystal clear. In comparison to Jaffa cars which were made in thousands and have been known about since release an INTERNAL motivation tool or even a souvenir of a company convention ( Mars for example want their own employees to focus on all their products with the feeling ´´ YUM YUM´´ ) would remain unknown to collectors.

SMS88 wrote:

zBret wrote:I'm thinking these models were color trials as well and my theory is that when they were presented for opinions by R&D department, that someone said, "that looks like Yum Yum Yellow" - which seems was a catch phrase at the time, regarding "shark tests" on the color yellow- I can envision someone going to the label department, coming up with a few labels to slap on them and saying, here ya go, Yum Yum Yellow !
I really don't think they are promotions for a company. Seems if you were doing a promotion, you would want "what it was" you were selling advertised, such as, "Yum Yum Donuts" or "Yum Yum Crisps". "Yum Yum" by itself seems too vague for promotional purposes.

zBret

We have never seen any prior evidence that Lesney in the 1970s used this technique of printing upon clear tape to create labels - popular with other makers particularly the Spanish toy makers but not Lesney. In the mid 1970s there was a brand of chocolate and strawberry flavoured milk called ´´Yumbo´´ and the tv commercials to support this used the slogan ´´YUM YUM YUMBO´´.
I expect these yellow SF19 cars left the factory plain and were decorated by whoever received them which explains why 1 in the auction had no trace of the label. If that happened to be the marketing department or agency for Mars and they only had dozens of them perhaps as gifts for all management & sales reps who attended a presentation for the 1971 planned UK launch of the new ´´Munch´´ bar then the message to their own people would be crystal clear. In comparison to Jaffa cars which were made in thousands and have been known about since release an INTERNAL motivation tool or even a souvenir of a company convention ( Mars for example want their own employees to focus on all their products with the feeling ´´ YUM YUM´´ ) would remain unknown to collectors.

My personal feeling is that with the above we are drifting away from the truth.
To me, the evidence of non-production line painting points to a very limited number of models being produced, almost certainly as a sample, possibly for Lesney’s internal use (testing the new paint), more likely for an external customer (considering a possible promotional issue), or perhaps both. (Note that if the customer wanted this specific colour/paint and it was not present in the then current Lesney palette, the company would have had little choice other than to paint the bodies specially in R&D.) Similarly, the transparent plastic tape labels could have been sourced by the end user or by Lesney (as a trial replacement for paper labels?). It all depends on who had the contacts and just what else had already been prepared bearing the “Yum Yum” slogan. (The customer may well have had rolls of “Yum Yum” tape lying about.) The missing label could have been deliberate (supporting Mick’s theory), or it could have been lost in play. (Children seem to delight in destroying their toys: if a part can be removed, it will be removed, irrespective of whether it is actually supposed to come off or not.) However, the auction photograph appears to show a clean bonnet without adhesive residue, implying that tape was never applied. Furthermore, it looks like the tape label is just a little too wide for the bonnet (Mick, can you please comment). If so, this would point to it not being purpose-made, but something else which has been pressed into service for the purposes of a mock-up/sample and therefore indicates application by the end-user.
Finally, whilst possible, I think it unlikely that an internally-distributed model could remain under the radar for so long, and would point out that the highly-obscure 10c British Sugar Corporation promotional, although only comparatively recently photographed (in a MICA magazine) was known to exist much earlier despite having only been distributed to an extremely limited number of site managers. (I think the MICA article mentions 36 models being manufactured.)

Health and safety dictate that separately applied stickers or labels of the plastic or paper type can not be used on toys destined for the consumption of children, this is why so many companies have had to invest in expensive 'Tampo' printing technology. Companies like 'Sellotape' will print whatever name or logo you want on low grade versions of their premier sticky tape product for a small fee, it looks to me as if those 'Yum Yum' sticky labels have been screen printed, a very low-tech method of printing inks onto flat surfaces.

Using commercially available toy vehicles for promoting your product is always a winner for all parties involved, but why use a Grand Prix car to promote a food product instead of a racing car product, why not use a Van or lorry for for food products!

This ongoing story is fascinating for all of us and it clearly will take a while for the truth to emerge, but when it does, we may be a little disappointed, like when they finally find "Nessie" in Loch Ness, the excitement will be over and the story will die...

Ghosty.

GHOSTHUNTER wrote:
This ongoing story is fascinating for all of us and it clearly will take a while for the truth to emerge, but when it does, we may be a little disappointed, like when they finally find "Nessie" in Loch Ness, the excitement will be over and the story will die...

Ghosty.

Nessie

I brilliant piece of marketing thought up decades ago to give a boost to the tourism in the Highlands. Ye canny wack it!!!!

Hang on a minute, are you saying "Nessie" is not real, how can you say that, there have been pictures in all the papers and some very clever scientists have poured millions into technology to find her, surely they would not have done all that if it was not true!!!

No I'm sorry Alex, me and a lot of other level-headed adults firmly believe in "Nessie", why, the story has even been published in my big book of...'How to spot extinct Monsters in your own back garden'...so it must be true.

Ghosty.

GHOSTHUNTER wrote:Hang on a minute, are you saying "Nessie" is not real, how can you say that, there have been pictures in all the papers and some very clever scientists have poured millions into technology to find her, surely they would not have done all that if it was not true!!!

No I'm sorry Alex, me and a lot of other level-headed adults firmly believe in "Nessie", why, the story has even been published in my big book of...'How to spot extinct Monsters in your own back garden'...so it must be true.

Ghosty.

Whatever Ghosty!!!