Jif Peanut Butter (History, FAQ, Marketing & Commercials)

While there are more than a few brands of peanut butter out there, most people only think of Jif when you mention peanut butter. The success of the Jif product in overwhelming the market and becoming the main name in peanut butter is pretty amazing. There are other products that you think of by the name of a company, sort of like Kleenex. This is nearly the case with Jif peanut butter, and you do catch someone once in a while referring to peanut butter everywhere on earth as Jif.

There are few peanut kinds of peanut butter as smooth or as delicious as Jif either, even today. This is probably one of the most beloved sandwich toppings among kids and adults alike for a good reason. If you have never even considered getting another brand of peanut butter, you probably should learn some more about Jif’s history. 

History

Jif is an American brand that is actually a part of the J.M. Smucker Company. The original maker of the peanut butter was actually Proctor & Gamble. Proctor & Gamble purchased Big Top peanut butter in 1955 so that they could use the manufacturing location to make their own peanut butter products. They intended to compete with Skippy and Peter Pan.

There were issues early on in the birth of Jif related to this purchase, however. Skippy and Peter Pan decided to copy the new recipe that was being used to make the speculative product that would become Jif, which caused issues with the FDA. All three brands were pressured by the FDA to comply with their efforts to define peanut butter as being at least 95% peanuts. The new mixtures would only be around 87% peanuts. Eventually, the FDA capitulated, and the products all continued down the road that Jif had begun to pave before it was even an official product sitting on supermarket shelves.

When creating this new product that would eventually be named Jif, Proctor & Gamble decided to use oils that were not from peanuts in the hydrogenation process. The recipe was sweetened with sugar and molasses as well. The first time that the product was announced was in 1956. The test product began to be sold in select markets at this time. 

Creamy and Crunchy style Jif were both released at the same time in these markets to see if one was more popular than the other. As it turned out, both performed very well for the company, and both of these original choices have continued to be the most popular Jif products for years. Extra Crunchy Jif was not released until 1974, and Simply Jif was not part of the lineup until 1991. The Simply version has less sugar and lower sodium than the regular peanut butters in the lineup and has recently been joined by Reduced Fat Jif and Jif Whips for those who are more health-conscious.

In 1958, when the brand was first launched and had started to get traction, Proctor & Gamble advertised with special trucks that showed the Jif mascot, a Jifaroo. This was a blue kangaroo that was retired in the early 60s. While this marketing plan did not have a long shelf life, nearly everyone immediately the slogan, “Choosy moms choose Jif”. This has been the tagline of most of the TV commercials that have been aired since the 90s, and nearly everyone in the US could tell you what this slogan refers to. Another famous tagline was, “Moms like you choose Jif”.

The feel-good family-focused aspect of the advertising work done for Jif has been part of what has cemented it as a kid-friendly, healthy food product. Nearly all the commercials that have been made since the 60s have shown moms feeding their delighted kids, and this has likely been a big factor in the huge market share that Jif has managed to scoop up for its own.

Ever since 1981, Jif has been the largest peanut butter brand in the US. All of the various versions of the peanut butter that Jif makes are very popular alongside the standby creamy version of the product. No matter which of the various different formulas is the one that you prefer to eat, you can count on the taste of Jif being excellent. Jif Peanut Butter is also known for being easy to spread, which is why it is one of the best choices if you use your peanut butter to make sandwiches.

In 2012, Jif added hazelnut spreads to the company stable and also mocha cappuccino and chocolate spread. They have also put in hard work to be sure that the ingredients in their brand are sourced responsibly as a response to the deforestation of southeast Asia, which is a growing concern. Jif has recently stated as well, that they have begun working on formulas that are sweetened with honey and are made without sugar at all. There has been additional discussion about alternate sources for the Omega 3 Fatty acids in their products which might come from fish oil rather than other sources.

Jif is one of the few products on the market today, which seems to be fully aware that children are most of their customers. They have made a big effort in recent years to ensure that the peanut butter that they make will not be harmful to the well-being of the kids who eat their products. This has been one of the common threads of Jif’s management from the beginning. Health consciousness goes hand-in-hand with the way that the product is developed and improved over time.

If you want to be sure that you are getting a really organic and low-sugar peanut butter, you might have to opt for an all-natural brand. However, Jif is coming closer and closer to keeping up with these more health-conscious companies, and the price point of Jif is much more reasonable as well. The addition of products like Jif Whips and Reduce Fat Jif have offered those who want to avoid sugar and fats to get to eat Jif without guilt.

Jif Peanut Butter Conspiracy Theories

There are some people who firmly believe that the product was originally called Jiffy and not Jif. This is not the case, but as in the instance of the Bernstein or Berenstein Bears argument, there are people who are positive that the name of the product changed over time. This is now a pop culture argument that gets discussed frequently. The Mandela Effect is a very real thing, and it happens when people share false memories due to cultural discussion that leads to this.

False memories aside, the product has always been called Jif, which is unique for a product that has been sold and changed hands a few times.

Packaging

The logo on each jar of Jif Peanut Butter is one of the most iconic product labels in this product space. The logo is very simple, the lettering large and white, and the background block stripes of red, blue, and green. The logo is lowercase as well, which is one of the more recognizable parts of the branding efforts for this peanut butter. Mot other peanut butter brands have complex logos or use cute animals or even images of peanut butter to demonstrate what their brand is all about.

It might have been an accident or not, but the logo reads the same way when the jar is upside down or right side up as well. This is one of the things that kids liked to do when the product was new, and no one had seen it before. There are even some ads that made the most of this funny little feature of the product and showed kids turning the jar over to see if the logo read the same way when the lid was on the top of the jar or the bottom.

Varieties

• Coffee Creamy
• Natural Crunchy
• Natural Honey Creamy
• Natural Creamy
• Reduced Fat Creamy
• Omega-3 Creamy
• Simply Jif
• No Sugar Jif
• Extra Crunchy Jif
• Cream Jif

Jif comes in eight-packs, jars, peanut butter-flavored breakfast cereals, and single packs that can be used on the go. There is also Jif Squeeze if you don’t want to have to use a knife to spread your peanut butter. This is not necessarily as practical as you might hope since getting the last of the peanut butter out of the bottle can be a bit of a headache.

Logo

Ingredients

From the Jif Peanut Butter website:

• Made From Roasted Peanuts And Sugar
  Contains 2% Or Less Of: Molasses
• Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed And Soybean)
• Mono And Diglycerides
• Salt

There are few products as simple as this on the market today. It can be a really big relief as a parent to be able to recognize the various ingredients that are listed in the foods that you are feeding to your kids.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	2 tbsp (32g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	188
Calories from Fat	143
Total Fat	16g	25%
Saturated Fat	3g	15%
Trans Fat	0g
Polyunsaturated Fat	3.6g
Monounsaturated Fat	6.6g
Cholesterol	0mgs	0%
Sodium	152mg	6%
Potassium	189mg	5%
Total Carbohydrates	7.7g	3%
Dietary Fiber	1.8g	7%
Sugars	2.1g
Protein	7g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		1.3%
Iron		3.8%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Pictures

Commercials

A recent ad with rapper Ludacris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bk2U0hp5wY

A commercial from the 70s for Jif Peanut Butter:

A 2019 ad:

A Gladiator ad for Jif Squeeze:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFa1wno8SyA

FAQ