Ben & Jerry's Celebrity-Inspired Flavors

cornered the market by making one of America’s favorite snacks a vehicle for social awareness.  Naming flavors after songs, movies and celebrities helped to market the ice cream and its cause. 

The company has contributed significant amounts to non-profit organizations and community groups.  According to Ben, “business has the responsibility to give back to the community.”  Ben & Jerry’s still lives by that motto.

Click ahead to see some of Ben and Jerry’s celebrity-inspired flavors!

By Tonya AlexanderPosted 6 Oct 2009

Inspired by: Jerry Garcia
Ingredients: Cherry Ice Cream with Cherries & Fudge Flakes

In 1987, a Grateful Dead fan from Portland, Maine suggested that Ben & Jerry’s name a flavor after the band’s lead guitarist Jerry Garcia.  The guitarist was a diabetic and Ben & Jerry’s donated profits from sales to a Diabetes Foundation. Today, Cherry Garcia® is the No. 1-selling flavor and first ice cream named for a rock legend.

Inspired By: Phish
Ingredients: Chocolate Ice Cream with Gooey Marshmallow, Caramel Swirls & Fudge Fish

“Ben was our neighbor through the woods and we’re fond of ice cream. So we teamed up to create Phish Food®. Our share of proceeds from [each] pint sale goes toward environmental efforts in Vermont’s Lake Champlain Watershed. Enjoy!” — PHISH

In 2008 Ben & Jerry’s donated $37,800 to the Waterwell Foundation's Lake Champlain Initiative.

Inspired by: John Lennon
Ingredients: Caramel & Sweet Cream Ice Creams Swirled with Fudge Peace Signs & Toffee Cookie Pieces

Ben & Jerry’s wanted to package a flavor that exemplified peace. The person who best exemplified that was Beatles member John Lennon, who wrote the song, "Give Peace a Chance’". The company partnered with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and Peace One Day, a UK-based, non-profit foundation. launched in 1999. In 2007-2008 Peace One Day has administered the polio vaccine to 3 million children in Afghanistan.

Inspired by: Sir Elton John
Ingredients: Chocolate Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, Brickle Candy Pieces, & White Chocolatey Chunks

In 2008, Sir Elton John made his first-ever Vermont concert appearance and Ben & Jerry’s honored the singer with a special, one-time flavor featuring his favorite ingredients. The ice cream was only sold in Vermont for just a week with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.  Ben & Jerry named the flavor after the singer’s popular song “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”.

Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road™ became encore edition in January 2009 because of countless fans declaring "one-time's not enough." The proceeds continue to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Inspired by: Stephen Colbert
Ingredients: Vanilla Ice Cream with Fudge Covered Waffle Cone Pieces & a Caramel Swirl

The popularity of "" on Comedy Central and Stephen Colbert's donations to charities dedicated to children, education and the environment made him a nominee for a flavor. The AmeriCone Dream was introduced in the spring of 2007 and by 2008 $159,513 in proceeds were donated to Colbert's charities. Ben & Jerry’s describe Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream™ as “a decadent melting pot of vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. It's the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth.”

Inspired by: Monty Python's "The Holy Grail"
Ingredients: Coffee Liqueur Ice Cream with a Chocolate Cookie Crumb Swirl and Fudge Cows

Jerry's motto is "if it isn't fun why do it?"  Ben & Jerry made a tongue-and-cheek reference to the Monty Python movie "The Holy Grail" by making a flavor called Vermonty Python.™

Inspired by: Dave Matthews Band
Ingredients: Black Raspberry Ice Cream Swirled with Sweet Cream Ice Cream & Fudgy Brownies

The Dave Matthews Band was excited to partner with Ben & Jerry’s to Lick Global Warming.  ”When Ben & Jerry's asked us to partner with them on this harmonic blend of raspberries & brownies, we were excited. The real magic, however, is our shared partnership with the nation's most influential environmental groups to help stop global warming,"  Carter, Stefan, Dave, Leroi & Boyd/Dave

Inspired by: Queen
Ingredients: Vanilla ice cream with Fudge Brownies and Raspberry Swirls

Ben & Jerry's United Kingdom unit wanted to pay tribute to the British rock band Queen. They named the flavor Bohemian Raspberry after Queen's 1997 single "Bohemian Rhadsody". Ten percent of each tub of ice cream (2008 - €111,690) was donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust -- a charity in memory of band member Freddie Mercury and dedicated to AIDS awareness. This flavor is only sold in Britain.

Inspired by: Willie Nelson
Ingredients: Peach Ice Cream with Cinnamon-Sugar Shortbread Pieces & Peach Swirl

In the winter of 2007, the company discussed dedicating their Country Peach Cobbler flavor to a celebrity with a cause. Texan country singer Willie Nelson was a perfect match. Ben and Jerry's partnered with Nelson to donate a portion of the proceeds to Farm Aid --- a non-profit organization whose goal is to keep families and farmers on their land. In 2008,  $84,972 was donated to the Farm Aid.

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