Ding Dong
- For the animated cat character Ding Dong, see Doraemon. "Ding dong" is also a euphemism for penis in some areas.
A Ding Dong is a snack cake sold in the United States under the Hostess brand name, which is owned by Interstate Bakeries Corporation. The snack was originally known in the Eastern United States as a King Don, and in other areas as Big Wheels.
The chocolate cake is round with a flat top and bottom, similar to a hockey puck, and is about three inches in diameter and a little more than an inch high. A white cream filling is injected into the center, and a thin coating of chocolate glaze covers the entire cake. The cake is wrapped in a square of thin tin foil, enabling it to be carried and packed in lunches without melting the chocolate glaze.
The Ding Dong was first marketed by Hostess in 1967; the name was given to coincide with a television ad campaign featuring a ringing bell. The company marketed it on the East Coast as a "King Don" snack cake, to avoid confusion with the Ring Ding, a similar (and pre-existing) snack by Drake's Cakes. Hostess consolidated the names in 1987, then decided to split them again when another competing name came to light. Since then the King Don name has been eliminated, and the snack is now sold all over America as the Ding Dong.