While you can now buy a bag of Stay Puft Marshmallows which are ‘always a campfire favorite‘ this brand of marshmallows did not exist before Ghostbusters. Both the brand and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man were fictional. The first Appearance of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, made by Stay Puft Marshmallow Corporation, occurred in the original movie in a scene involving the character Dana Barret’s apartment, where we see a bag of marshmallows bearing the name and the mascot. Mr. Stay Puft Marshmallow man also appears in an advertisement on a building near the Ghostbuster’s headquarters. He then appears as the giant, physical manifestation of the god, Gozer. This shape is chosen after Gozer demands, in a voice from nowhere, that the ghostbusters ‘choose the form of the destructor.’
Dan Akroyd’s character, Ray Stantz, tries to think of the most harmless thing, so the Mr. Stay-Puft Marshmallow man pops into his head as “Something that could never possibly destroy us.” Then appears the 112.5 feet tall marshmallow man, dressed in a sailor suit and sailor hat.
The character resembles both the Pillsbury Dough Boy and the Michelin Man, who is actually called Bibendum by the French tire company.
Stay-Puft Marshmallows Is Now a Real Brand
Although Stay-Puft Marshmallows never existed before the original Ghostbusters movie, the brand name Stay-Puft Marshmallows has been licensed and you can now buy a bag of the marshmallows.
As well, the mascot appears in memorabilia products and an animated series in which the once evil marshmallow man teams up with the Ghostbusters and Slimer in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters.
The character has been brought back for the new Ghostbusters film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This time he is not a giant, but tiny. Paul Rudd’s character, Mr. Grooberson, is shopping for groceries when he sees the mini mascot form out of a bag of Stay Puft Marshmallows sitting on a grocery store shelf.
Little Stay Puft looks pretty cute and cuddly, so Mr Grooberson, of course, tries to poke his fat little belly, only to receive a nasty bite on his finger before being overrun by a horde of the tiny marshmallow men. Watch this scene in the trailer, below:
Can You Buy Stay Puft Marshmallows?
Yes. As stated, there is now an actual brand of Stay Puft Marshmallows, made by the marshmallow brand Campfire Marshmallows. They are available in both mini and full-size versions.
Campfire Marshmallows was the first commercially available brand of marshmallows. They have been in business for at least 100 years. The bag on the shelf in the movie does appear to look just like the bags that are now being sold.
