All Photos By Gail

On its own, Nerds candy is a somewhat unremarkable, microscopic-in-size hard candy with a popular sweet/sour flavor profile that The Kids love. But as you can see by this entirely over-the-top store display that brings in pop culture references from every angle, Nerds are about two things: packaging and marketing.

The mannequin is even wearing a tank-style mini-dress with a bright pink and purple pattern the emulates a box of Nerds, while sporting a pink wig and holding a Pusheen backpack. You’re not buying candy, you are buying an image.  How cool is she? Answer: so cool. Nerd Cool. You can buy the jumbo box of Nerds candy (which will take you one human lifetime to eat) and the Pusheen backpack at It’Sugar. The Nerds Dress is sold as a part of a “Nerd Girl” Halloween Costume at Walmart.