Good Humor’s trucks will soon be hitting the road again after a decades-long hiatus, but the iconic ice cream brand’s fleet will be announcing its presence with tweets instead of clanging bells.
Nearly 40 years after sidelining its famous fleet, Good Humor is launching a “Welcome to Joyhood” sampling tour this summer that will see the classic version of the brand’s ice cream trucks making stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston, according to Ad Age. Customers looking for an ice cream fix will be able to summon the classic Good Humor trucks by tweeting @GoodHumor. And, in another modern twist, the throwback trucks will be blasting pop music and rock songs instead of ringing their iconic chime bells.
The brand, which is owned by consumer goods giant Unilever (UN), sold its classic fleet of white trucks in 1976 and switched its focus to grocery store sales amid rising gas prices. Independent contractors still sell Good Humor products, which include classics such as ice cream sandwiches and strawberry shortcake ice cream bars, from their own ice cream trucks.
This isn’t Good Humor’s first step toward a more modern feel. Earlier this year, one of the brand’s New York distributors decided to spice up the look of its own trucks by adding a flashy paint job and playing newer music. The distributor, Dover Group, also had its drivers swap out their classic Good Humor uniforms — all white with a black bow tie and white cap — for a more current look.
The attempts to pump life into the Good Humor brand come after three straight years of falling sales for the brand in grocery stores, Ad Age notes, citing numbers from market research firm Euromonitor International.