The origin of the familiar and loveable mascot has been called into question after it was recently retired from a long association with Hudson’s, and later, Griffin’s biscuits.
A quick internet search of Cookie Bear gives credit for his creation to the late Carlton-Carruthers du Chateau Ltd advertising agency director Don Donovan, but Maria Barta, 79, believes the credit should go to her late husband, Dunedin man Jim Hinkley, who was a marketing director for Cadbury Schweppes Hudson.
He was the creator of Cookie Bear, which became a "Kiwi cultural icon" for the Dunedin biscuit manufacturer, she said.
Mrs Barta said she was surprised to see Mr Donovan getting the credit for creating Cookie Bear, in the media and in internet archives.
"I was gobsmacked when I discovered that, thanks to Dr Google."
She wanted to set the record straight and said her husband came up with the idea after seeing the Andy Williams Show in 1969, when Hungarian acrobat and stuntman Janos Prohaska began appearing in a bear costume, asking for cookies.
"The bear never got any cookies in the series, but fans began mailing baked products to Prohaska.
"He saw it on the Andy Williams Show, and he immediately thought that was a great idea to market Hudson’s biscuits.
"Ted Barringer, who was the general manager of Cadbury, from 1963 to 1980 - and a lovely, lovely man and as honest as the day is long - in his book Sweet Success, he said that Jim was ‘the father of Cookie Bear’.
"On page 121 of his book, it says: ‘the display department was strengthened by the appointment of Jim Hinkley, whose main claim to fame was that he ‘fathered’ that well-known advocate of Hudson’s biscuits, Cookie Bear’.
"Jim Hinkley was not a man to blow his own trumpet, very clever, though he was."
Her husband used to wander around the house a lot, saying the "dum-de-doo" catchphrase, Mrs Barta said.
"He believed it was the sound a big rotund bear would make when it was walking."
He also enlisted her help making and fixing some of the Cookie Bear suits that were used for marketing at local events and street parades.
Mr Donovan and Mr Hinkley had meetings in Dunedin, and it was possible Mr Hinkley came up with the idea and shared it with Mr Donovan, who then created the advertising.
"Jim was a very creative and innovative man and I would say that they probably perhaps did it together, but it never occurred to me that Don Donovan would take ownership of it in that way.
"I feel that Jim’s originality is being undermined. I feel I have to defend his creativity.
"Cookie Bear became iconic. I don’t think anybody envisaged it would take on a life of its own, but in fact, that’s what it did."
A major avenue of promotion was the Cookie Bear Club feature in the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, with puzzles, jokes and correspondence between Cookie Bear and the children.
Members of the Cookie Bear Club received postcards on their birthday.
Her sons, Simon and Rhian, were on one of the postcards with Cookie Bear that was sent out to children around the country, she said.
"Simon, our eldest son, he’s now a professor of chemistry at Victoria University, and Rhian is a film animator and playwright and composer in Melbourne.
"Jim took the photo."
Cadbury had to employ five women to keep up with all the birthdays and sending out the postcards.
The club was later moved to an online website.
