File photo by Harley Soltes/The Seattle Times
Oh, boy. It’s the end of an era for beef jerky company Oberto.
The 95-year-old Kent-based company is removing its catchy “Oh, Boy!” slogan from its packaging, replacing it with one aimed at a modern look targeted at “active consumers.” The new catchphrase, which strikes me as oddly sedate, is “Eat Excellent. Be Excellent.”
New packaging will feature an oversized “O” and black and white sports photographs in the borders. A company executive said in a press release that the change is part of a general shift in the market for a newly elevated snack once seen as an “unsophisticated junk food.” (Oberto’s jerky recently won a national taste test.)
The “Oh, Boy!” line, credited to Gene Goddess, a business-consultant friend of Art Oberto, has been used at least since the mid-1960s.
What do you think? “Oh, boy!” or “Aw, shucks!”