Amazing Blu-Tack® facts
Blu-Tack® is made of synthetic rubber and selected mineral fillers carefully chosen so it is clean to use, tacky, strong and re-usable.
Blu-Tack® was discovered during the development of a Bostik industrial adhesive. It was originally going to be white, but fears that it might be mistaken by children for sweets led to it being coloured blue, as there were no blue coloured sweets on the market at the time. Though today confectionary comes in all colours, Blu-Tack® is still blue…
If you laid all the packs of Blu-Tack® sold in the UK every year back to back, they would reach from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back.
When Blu-Tack® was first launched, the initial reaction was fairly poor because nobody knew what to do with it. So, Bostik turned to advertising to educate consumers.
A yachtsman sailing around the world was able to stop his boat from sinking by plugging a hole with Blu-Tack®.
There have been 59 recorded injuries from Blu-Tack®!
Early TV campaigns featured a hippo called ‘Tubby Tacker who introduced the public to the versatility of Blu-Tack®. Within ten years of its launch Blu-Tack® had become a household name. It now commands an amazing 94% brand share of the office adhesives reusable tack market.
In 2000 artists James White and Tim Sherward created three two foot tall sculptures entitled Cowboy Cardealer and Squid and Ian that were displayed at Walsall’s new art gallery as part of an exhibition to show how the colour blue has influenced twentieth century.
