YMMV / Wacky Packages

• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The 1974 12th series contained a parody called "Pieces", a crumbled up parody of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Four years later, in 1978, Reese's would go on to make the actual Reese's Pieces.
  • Ralston Purina was one of the early companies to send a Cease and Desist on their products being parodied, meaning titles such as "Bum Chex" and "Choke Wagon" were quick pulls from the line. Ralston would later end up being one of the promoters of the stickers, putting the stickers in the cereal as promo boxes and even having exclusive parodies for their cereals and the collection book.
  • The 2014 series contained a parody called "Pampers", a parody of Planters Peanuts featuring a baby version of Mr. Peanut. This was released six years before the 2020 "Baby Nut" campaign from Planters.
  • The Futurama episode "Stench and Sensibility", released in 2013, featured their own fake Wacky Packages sticker, as a "medicinal Wacky Pack". This fake sticker was "Band-Ape". In 2020, seven years after the episode aired, Topps would make a real sticker based on this parody, albeit titled "Band-Apes" instead.
• Periphery Demographic: While the original series was designed as a purchase for children, these same children as adults would make up more of the audience in modern times. Despite the fact that some gags are still pushing towards children's humor (primarily Toilet Humor), they are far more purchased in their online state by nostalgic adults.
• Unintentional Period Piece: A special case in the term of this series. Due to the parody nature of the brand, specific products and their packaging are referenced through the parodies. Due to the constant changing nature of products, both through discontinuation of the products and changing of the labels, the stickers are very much "stuck" in the years that they were created.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley: Some of the artwork is very well-detailed, especially the paintings in the 70s, to match a close style compared to the original artwork. However, this can also give an accidental off feeling to the brand, seeing something warped from what it originally was, including very well-detailed human designs. One commonly mentioned one that many have cited as one they were afraid of was the "Hostile Thinkies" one, a Hostess Twinkies parody with very well-detailed brains replacing the pastries, along with two angry monsters that are implied to be the "donators" of the brains.
• Values Dissonance: The original series' contained parodies of alcohol and smoking products. Considering the sticker line was made for kids, once the newer iterations of the brand were created, these types of products to parody disappeared. Tellingly, they would only make new appearances in the "Old School" series, an online retro collection meant for adult collectors first.

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