Apollo Candy Company
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- This page has information on the company that produces Apollo Candy and their website. For appearances of the candy itself in Lost, and its significance to the development of the Lost Experience, see Apollo Bar.
ApolloCandy.com was announced on August 8th 2006. It is hosted on the same server as all of the other in-game sites. The site promotes a chocolate bar named Apollo. It also has sections describing the Apollo Candy Company, its founder M. David Benson and other related topics.
Note that the domain registration for the in-game website has since expired, and the game website no longer exists. During the course of The Lost Experience, the domain was presumably operated by Hi-ReS!, (the company contracted to run The Lost Experience), but according to the WHOIS listing, it was registered via the anonymizer service Domain Discreet [1], [2]. The one year registration expired on April 14, 2007, and approximately on May 27, 2007, it was purchased by another party which hosted an adult website in its place. The domain and current website is therefore no longer owned or affiliated with ABC or The Lost Experience, although the lapse has apparently since been noticed in the course of editing of the Apollo Bar article in Lostpedia by employees of ABC (see discussion here).
Contents |
Website info
Main
The Apollo logo appears centered and with a background of what appear to be stars. When the logo is clicked, the chocolate bar appears in the center surrounded by clickable stars. These are: The beginning, The Man, The Ad, The Company, The Jeep and The Apollo Bar. Also, there is an image of a blonde boy holding the chocolate bar at the upper left, and a female's mouth that is about to take a bite of the bar.
Clicking the chocolate bar at the center will open the wrapper and show the chocolate. Written on the bar is the website address whereisalvar.com, a website created by Rachel Blake where you can upload a picture of yourself along with your Apollo bar. The message on the bar was deciphered by Tycoonalex, one of the players of the Lost Experience game.
It seems that the website's layout is changed from time to time.
The Beginning
The back of the chocolate wrapper appears with a birthday cake with one candle and some text:
Never in his wildest dreams could M. David Benson have imagined how this moment would change everything. It was 1964. He had just delivered, from the back of his beast-to-the-bolts 1959 Jeep FC-150, the very first crate of Apollo Bars to San Francisco´s legendary J.Pickersweet´s Five and Dime. Benson knew this was the moment of truth. If Pickersweet liked what you had to sell, profit and prosperity would most certainly follow. But if he took issue with your product.. Benson held his breath as Pickersweet bit into the impossibly rich, unimaginably creamy Apollo Bar. A full, heart-wrenching ten seconds passed. And then, the miraculous happened. Pickersweet´s mustache curled up above a grin that stretched from ear to ear. The Apollo Bar had landed in the Golden Gate City.
Also, there is a code bar with the numbers 185192 on it.
The Man
Again, the back of the wrapper appears with a picture of the shade of a person and some text:
Born in 1938, M. David Benson is the child of Nils Christer Benson, son of Oskar Benson, found of Scandinavian´s revered Benson Chocolatiers. Some would say Benson was a child of strife. His grandfather, Oskar Benson was a man of tradition. Upon learning of his son´s engagement to a woman well below his station, Oskar turned his back on Nils, cutting him from the family inheritance. Leaving Norway, with his pregnant wife, Elli, Nils established a new life in the U.S., joining the U.S. Marine Corps in December of 1941. Sadly, however, Nils Benson lost his life on Omaha Beach just a few short years later. Like many immigrants, the widowed Elli Benson, felt a strong sense of patriotism for her adopted country. Her husband had died defending America, and M. David Benson was raised to cherish his homeland. M. David Benson served America in the Korean War and recounts the moment when he, too, discovered that chocolate ran through his veins: "The six of us were pinned down - scared witless. I knew we´d be lost if we didn´t come together. So I rifled through my pack and found it -- The Benson Chocolate Bar mom had sent. They were expensive. She was poor. But once a month like clockwork, there was that care package. Six ways, I split that chocolate, and even with death staring at us in the eye, not a one of us could deny the smile on his face. It was dead midnight, but for that sweet moment, as we ate that Benson Bar, the sun came up for us all" It was in that foxhole that M. David Benson first envisioned the Apollo Bar. Less than two years later, that vision had become a reality. And, the rest, as they say, is history.
Also, it has an expiration date: (10/23/06. 23 and 10+06 = 16.)
Enjoy by: OCT 23-06
The Ad
When clicking on "The Ad" a video of the advertisement broadcasted on tv can be seen. The weird video can be seen here. There is caption reading "Not available in stores" but the narrator says to visit the site to get a free bar. Later, a new section was added: "US Distribution"
The Company
When clicking on "The Company" the back of the wrapper appears again. Also, there is blue Apollo balloon flying across the sky and some text:
Starting with only the milk chocolate recipe given to him by his grandfather, Oskar Benson, M. David Benson began the Apollo Candy Company in 1962, out of a one-room factory in San Francisco´s legendary Cow Hollow district. By 1964, Benson had perfected the recipe for his affordable, yet exceptionally delicious, Apollo Bars, and began distributing them citywide. By 1968, the fledgling company had secured distribution outlets nationwide. Sadly, in the early 1970s, the Apollo Candy Company fell into dire straits. However, due to the considerable financial intervention of Alvar Hanso, founder of the worldwide philantropic organization, The Hanso Foundation, the company was saved from bankruptcy... and infused with new life. Today, the Apollo Candy Company is alive and well as the private purveyor of chocolates for Alvar Hanso and his many companies.
The same expiration date and bar code are present.
The Jeep
Keeping the trend of advertising Jeep, clicking "The Jeep" shows us the back part of the wrapper with the picture of a truck with animated wheels and some text:
Once he´d Perfected the Apollo Bar´s recipe, M. David Benson found himself in a predicament: he´d spent all but his last cent on starting the company--which left him no means to travel around and hawk his sensational new chocolates. The short of it? He needed a truck, and fast. But, how? And which truck? This was no small decision. Choosing a distribution vehicle was about more than just getting a box of Apollo Bars from here to there. Whatever Benson chose to drive, he knew it would forever be associated with the Apollo Candy Company. It would represent him, his family, and the image of the company he was trying to lift off the ground -- for good or for ill. Luckily, fortune smiled on Benson once again. A close friend had just moved to the Big Apple and had no more need for his 1959 Jeep FC-150 Truck. It was beaten up, dirty, looked like it had no business rolling on city streets, but Benson took one look at that jeep and knew it was the perfect truck -- not only was it affordable, it was a vehicle as rugged and durable as the American spirit. 600,000 miles and 44 years later. Benson still prefers his Jeep FC-150 to the other vehicles in his fleet. As he´s been know to boast, "Apollo himself would gladly give up both horse and chariot for a chance to ride in my Jeep FC-150!"
The Apollo Bar
The back of the wrapper appears with a picture of the top left hand corner of a Apollo bar being dropped into chocolate and some other text:
After his tour ended, Benson knew what he had to do. He would bring the Benson Bar to America, but with a change. He would make it affordable, but with no sacrifice to quality, so that every American, regardless of class, creed or station could come together through the simple delight of the world´s richest, creamiest, milk chocolate. Bringing this proposal to his grandfather, a man he barely knew, Benson was devastated to learn Benson Chocolatiers had gone under, the brand sold to a British candy manufacturer. However, Oskar Benson had a surprise for his grandson. Having missed out on his childhood, hoping only to reconnect after so many regretful years, Oskar Benson offered his grandson the most valuable of family secrets: the original, secret recipe for Benson Milk Chocolate. Working from this recipe, it was only a matter of time before M.David Benson concocted the recipe for "The Apollo Bar", a confection fit for even the Greek god of light himself.
Press release
EW.com reprinted the following press release from Apollo:
| “ |
August 21, 2006 COMING TO A GALAXY NEAR YOU: “APOLLO BAR,” THE CHOCOLATE BAR THAT’S OUT OF THIS WORLD Free Apollo Bars to Be Distributed for a Limited Time In Select Locations Across the U.S., U.K., Australia And Asia What once was lost, now is found… Apollo Bar, the scrumptious chocolate bar developed in the 1960s by M. David Benson, has been enjoyed by generations of consumers. For those who’ve yet to taste Mr. Benson’s bars, your opportunity to “discover what’s inside” awaits. Beginning Wednesday, August 23, free Apollo Bars will be distributed while supplies last in select locations throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Asia. The Apollo Bar is manufactured and distributed by the Apollo Candy Company, a subsidiary of The Hanso Group. “Chocolate has been my life’s passion, and I am thrilled to be able to share my passion with people all over the world,” said Mr. Benson. “Once people taste my chocolate bar, I think they‘ll be hooked. I’d like to thank Mr. Alvar Hanso and the good folks at The Hanso Foundation for making this possible.” Mr. Benson, founder of the “Apollo Candy Company,” distributed the first Apollo Bars in San Francisco, CA in 1964. The bars grew in popularity and were circulating across the United States by 1968 before the company fell into dire straits in the early seventies. However, due to the considerable financial intervention of Alvar Hanso, founder of the worldwide philanthropic organization, The Hanso Foundation, the company was saved from bankruptcy and infused with new life. Today, the Apollo Company is alive and well as the private purveyor of chocolates for Alvar Hanso and his many companies. From August 23 through September, the Apollo Candy Company will distribute free Apollo Bars in cities throughout the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Chicago. For a complete list of dates and locations where people can get their free Apollo bar, and for more information on the Apollo Candy Company, please visit our website at www.apollocandy.com. | ” |
Distribution
Bars were distributed in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The US venues tended to be organized differently, with some praised by fans as well planned and sociable, and others poorly devised, cancelled, with bars unfairly given out to ignorant members of the public. In the United Kingdom, bars were simply given to customers at Forbidden Planet stores who gave correct passwords. In Australia, the Lost Ninja worked to secure some bars and personally organized distribution so fans could be part of the experience.
Notes and trivia
- Although the bar clearly says "Dark Chocolate" on the front of it, in the history section of the website (see above) it is referred to as "milk chocolate."
- The candy bar pictured on the site has a label: ENJOY BY OCT 23-06", as well as the UPC code 185192. So too did all distributed bars.
- The website appears to be a cross-promotion with Jeep, with an entire section of the website labeled "Jeep."
- When clicking twice on the big chocolate bar on the Main Page, the chocolate turns into little pieces. If you join the pieces together, you get the letters "wh" and something else behind the wrapper - see image on right. The full message is "whereisalvar.com" (which is also the case inside any bar).
- It is physically impossible that M. David Benson could have been born in 1938 and served in the Korean War. He would have only been 15 years old when US fighting ended in 1953 (after the Truce).
- Dr. Hackett appears to have been an employee of Apollo, working on masking a psychotropic compound in a beverage.
- Apollo Food Holdings Bhd is a real company that produces candy bars in Malaysia. Though they look like nothing in Lost and are unrelated to the show, there are real Apollo candy bars. They are chocolate covered wafer biscuits without any nuts.
- Apollo, the renowned boxer from the Rocky Franchise of films, was also called Dark Chocolate.
- The typeface style used for the 'Apollo' brand is evocative of the 'Wonka' bars in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. So too are the golden oracle bars, similar to Wonka's golden tickets.
