LONDON – The Victoria & Albert Museum has selected the Guardian’s Brexit-themed crackers conceived by mcgarrybowen to be part of its permanent collection.
The crackers, created by mcgarrybowen for the Guardian to put a lighthearted, satirical spin on the Christmas tradition, will be added to the V&A collection alongside other historic cracker artefects, such as the box of crackers created by the inventor of the first ever Christmas cracker.
mcgarrybowen’s Brexit crackers contain cheeky prizes themed around the key issues of the referendum debate – for example, toys inside include a yo-yoing pound and a toy Brexit bus with promises to fund the NHS. The crackers also feature a miniature EU jigsaw, where you can piece together a map of the European Union and try and make the UK fit and there’s even a tiny, miniature book of Brexit plans, containing Britain’s entire exit strategy, though you might struggle to read it.
As tradition demands, each cracker contains a joke – for example: “Q. Why did Michael Gove leave his Christmas dinner? A. He didn’t like Brussels.”
Angus Macadam, Executive Creative Director at mcgarrybowen said, “These crackers have really captured the mood of Brexit. It’s an honour to have an institution like the V&A take such an interest”.
Sonia Sudhakar, Director of Consumer Marketing at the Guardian said, “We’re delighted with the response to the Brexit crackers from our readers and now the recognition by the V&A. They are a lighthearted, seasonal play on this year’s dramatic political events – hopefully they will help to bring a much needed smile to round it off.”
The Guardian offered the crackers as competition prizes for readers and subscribers.