‘The Simpsons’ Brutally Roasted a Corporate Partner as Soon as Their Deal Expired

The Simpsons has obviously boasted a number of brand partnerships over the years, hence why America’s favorite cartoon family has hawked everything from Burger King meals to Toyota Corollas. And long before Marge’s tragic passing, Homer seemingly plummeted to death while illustrating the benefits of 1-800-Collect.

But The Simpsons franchise first dipped its yellow toes into the waters of corporate sponsorship back when the characters’ TV presence was still limited to shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. In 1988, Bart and his new pal Milhouse appeared in a commercial for Butterfinger, in which the eldest Simpson sibling argues that the chocolate bar is one of the four major food groups.

Sure, that might sound a tad irresponsible in retrospect, but at least he wasn’t shilling for big tobacco, like some other iconic cartoon characters.

The partnership lasted for more than a decade, with most commercials involving Bart fending off those who would attempt to steal his Butterfinger, such as Nelson, Homer or even his therapist, Dr. Marvin Monroe. 

It’s impossible to overstate just how tightly-knit these two brands were in the ‘90s: Simpsons characters also appeared on Butterfinger packaging, Simpsons comics were included in certain Butterfinger products and some lucky kids told time using Simpsons-Butterfinger wristwatches.

So you can imagine how shocking it was when The Simpsons randomly dissed Butterfinger in an episode.

Season 13’s “Sweet and Sour Marge,” which aired in January 2002, found Marge suing the candy industry, leading to a sugar ban in Springfield. As a result, Chief Wiggum and his officers round up every sugary snack they can find and melt them in a giant bonfire. 

At one point, Eddie tosses an armful of Butterfingers into the flaming pile of treats, but the fire rejects the chocolate bars, which aren’t so much as singed. “Even the fire doesn’t want them,” Wiggum observes.

So after 14 years of suggesting that Butterfingers are so delicious that bullies and child psychologists will literally fight you for them, The Simpsons revealed that the product is actually too revolting to burn?

Per Comic Book Resources, in the episode’s DVD commentary, then-showrunner Al Jean explained that the joke was written specifically because the show’s deal with Butterfinger’s parent company Nestlé had lapsed. “If it had still been in existence, we wouldn’t have done it,” Jean noted. 

Despite the dig, Butterfinger worked with The Simpsons again for an online contest in 2006, and they still included the characters on their 100th anniversary packaging in 2024. 

But presumably that won’t stop the show from making more jokes about the grossness of Butterfinger next season.