Teresa Tomato - Milky Way Candy Bar Mask (1940s) - box

Straight out of the golden era of candy promotions, this whimsical “Teresa Tomato” mask was issued in the 1940s by the Mars Company as part of a clever Milky Way candy bar marketing campaign. At the time, candy brands competed fiercely for children’s loyalty, and free premiums—comic books, buttons, and especially paper masks—were a powerful draw.

This mask features the character Teresa Tomato, rendered in bold red and green litho colors with her signature bow and playful kiss-pursed lips. She was part of a series of anthropomorphic fruit and vegetable “Funny Face” style characters that tied into Milky Way’s family-friendly advertising push during the wartime and postwar years.

What makes this example especially important is that it comes housed in the original Milky Way candy box. These masks were often printed directly on the underside of candy cartons, encouraging kids to cut them out after the candy was gone. Because the majority were destroyed in the process of cutting, complete boxes with intact masks are extraordinarily scarce today—even more so for Teresa Tomato, one of the rarer and more visually striking designs in the set.

Collectors of vintage advertising, candy ephemera, and 1940s Americana prize these masks not only for their scarcity but also for their cultural charm, representing an era when advertising blurred the line between product and play.

Measures 9 inches by 7 inches by 2 inches (box dimensions).