Thinking about Harvey Norman in the 2000s had me thinking about all the gadgets and gizmos that were sold during that time and there is one specific appliance collection that I can’t seem to get out of my head.
Does anyone recall the Sunbeam Cool Creations? Lets see if this ad below rings a bell.
The Sunbeam Cool Creations were launched in 2005 under the guize of being appliances for kids. But the thing is they were just normal appliances, gussied up, given a new name and 10x more expensive than what was on the market.
But you know what, the Sunbeam marketing team had me hook, line and sinker because I wanted them all!
The early 2000s seemed like a time to market cooking appliances to children, I don’t know why but for some reason Sunbeam had my 12-year-old self wanting a pie maker so badly. Thankfully, my parents were sensible enough to ignore my pleas and buy me more Saddle Club paraphernalia.
The collection was pretty cool and colourful and that is what drew me in. They had a popcorn machine named Cornelius, Flossy the fairy floss machine and Mikey the martian that made milkshakes. Also, shout out to Eggo, the saddest appliance of the bunch.
Someone on Reddit found an old magazine advertising the Cool Creations and I forgot there were so many. How could I forget about Waddles the Waffle Maker?!
I like the fact that Sunbeam thought it would be good to have an ice cream machine AND a snow cone maker.
See the ads in their entirety below.
Seeing the prices, they don’t look that expensive, I mean a normal Sunbeam pie maker now goes for $79 on Amazon Australia.
Not only do I want to point out the silly, goofy appliances but also the offputting script in the above ad.
In the ad, one of the lines that sticks out like a sore thumb in 2024 is: “If mum wants us in the kitchen, we are there!”. My first question is, why does mum want you in the kitchen? And why are these kids so bratty that they don’t want to be in the kitchen? Are kids still this bratty? Couldn’t tell ya!
And then the next line is even more odd: “For really cool stuff check out Sunbeam’s Cool Creations and blitz your mum’s kitchen!”
What do you mean by “blitz your mum’s kitchen”? As in destroy the one place you’ve relegated her to all for the fun of making some mediocre pies?
Blitz, as in cook up a storm? Or even Ballroom Blitz, a great song by The Sweet? I need answers Sunbeam!
Regardless, this has been a very fun walk down memory lane for me.
In other news, my colleague Zac has also informed me of this Harry Potter potions-making kit from the same era. Oh, what a time!