GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

It's been 90ish years since BUTTERFINGER^® first made its sweet debut, and today fans are still laying a finger on America's favorite crispety, crunchety, peanut buttery candy bar. To celebrate the brand's first 90ish years, Butterfinger kicked off the new year with a 90-day countdown, where fans will have a chance to share favorite Butterfinger memories and can find out more exciting details about the anniversary program at Facebook.com/Butterfinger. Throughout the 90 days, Butterfinger will showcase some of its very best moments in history including vintage bar photos, popular ad campaigns, little known trivia, spokesperson spotlights, and more.

“After 90ish years, Butterfinger continues to be a fan favorite with a rich history that is a part of every generation today,” said spokesperson Tricia Bowles of Nestlé USA. “And the 90-day countdown is just the beginning of our exciting celebration throughout the year, so stay tuned for more incredible announcements from Butterfinger.”

Butterfinger designated 2013 as a benchmark for its first 90ish years, as the candy bar originally invented by Chicago's Curtiss Candy Company was believed to have been promoted as early as 1923 (before it ultimately was sold to Nestlé in 1990). However, Butterfinger parent company Nestlé holds a trademark document from 1928, thus the 90ish reference around its anniversary, keeping in line with the brand's irreverent sense of humor.

Since the 1920's, when the term “Butterfinger” was used by sportscasters to describe athletes who were unable to hold onto a baseball or football, Butterfinger has become a beloved brand known for humor and a roster of memorably funny spokespersons, from Bart Simpson to Seth Green to Erik Estrada to Rob Lowe and Jaime Pressly, its most recent and first female spokesperson. A look at just the most recent years with Butterfinger illustrates the brand's irreverent nature: counting down the end of the world or BARmageddon, with evidence such as the first-ever, square-shaped crop circle in Kansas, a Butterfinger comedy-horror movie called “Butterfinger the 13th,” the first interactive digital graphic novel by a candy brand starring the Butterfinger Defense League, and several attention-grabbing April Fool's Day pranks, including the renaming of the candy bar to “The Finger.”

During the 90-day countdown, fans can go to Facebook.com/Butterfinger to learn more about the “best of” Butterfinger, and see the candy bar's journey from boundary-pushing marketing stunts to the evolution of its candy wrapper designs. Like Butterfinger, the 90ish birthday celebration will be awesome — proving that decades later, even a 90ish year-old can push the limits of fun to new levels while remaining true to its sweet self.

About Butterfinger

Butterfinger is a one-of-a-kind candy bar with the crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery taste people love. No other candy bar comes close to the intense flavor and texture of a Butterfinger. Keep up with the latest news about Butterfinger at Facebook.com/Butterfinger or follow its sweet tweets at Twitter.com/Butterfinger.

About Nestlé USA

Named one of “The World's Most Admired Food Companies” in Fortune magazine for 14 consecutive years, Nestlé provides quality brands and products that bring flavor to life every day. From nutritious meals with LEAN CUISINE^® to baking traditions with NESTLÉ^® TOLL HOUSE^®, Nestlé USA makes delicious, convenient, and nutritious food and beverage products that make good living possible. That's what “Nestlé. Good Food, Good Life” is all about. Nestlé USA, with 2011 sales of $10 billion, is part of Nestlé S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland — the world's largest food company with a commitment to Nutrition, Health & Wellness — with 2011 sales of $94 billion. For product news and information, visit Nestleusa.com or NestleNewsroom.com.

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