2010/32

A mug with 5 singing potatoes, with the words ‘We want to be Smiths Crisps’. It plays ‘I want to be Bobby’s girl’ when picked up.
The mug is white with a transfer-printed design of five singing potatoes in the ground, with the words ‘We want to be Smiths Crisps’ beneath. It was a promotional item for Smiths Potato Crisps Ltd. in the 1990s. When picked up the mug plays ‘I want to be Bobby’s girl’, the tune used in Smiths adverts at the time.

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – ‘Description: Promotional mug for Smiths Crisps dating from the mid 1990s. Transfer-printed illustration of 4 [5] singing potatoes in the ground with the words beneath ‘We want to be Smiths Crisps’. When picked up the mug plays the tune ‘I want to be Bobby’s girl’, which in the advertisements at the time the potatoes sang this line to. // Little stickers on the mug says ‘Made in Taiwan’ // Dimensions: 9 cm high x 8.5 cm diameter // Associated information: Purchased as part of the Collecting 20th Rural Culture project. // As part of the marketing campaign, purchasers of Smiths Crisps collected tokens in the crisp packets to send off for their mug. // Smiths Potato Crisps Ltd was founded by Francis Leigh Smith in Cricklewood, London, shortly after First World War.’, MERL Miscellaneous note - A recording on Tuesday 2 September 2025 of the mug's tune is saved on the Digital Asset Management System.

Taiwan

1990 - 1999

1990s