THE CANDIES:
The candies themselves come in several varieties across the globe, the most common being 'Mint' and 'Mixed Fruit' (or 'Fruit' in many cultures). For those of you in the US, you used to find Strawberry, Cinnamon, and Spearmint--but those are now gone (See section 5a: Flavor Issues) Taste and color are drastically different between them,but in every other way, they are quite similar.
The shape of a Mentos candy is disklike, with an ellipsical bulge in the middle. (It has been suggested that they are 'lenticular' meaning 'lentil-shaped'.) They measure 3/4"in diameter, and at their largest point, 6/16" tall.
Net weight is reported as 1.3 OZ/37.5 g, but this was impossible to confirm at the time of this writing.
Coloring of the Mint candies is a chalky light hue, that extends throughout the entire candy. The fruit variety contains three colors, purple (grape), yellow (lemon), and orange (orange). Cinnamon and Strawberry have a reddish/pinkish hue, Cinnamon being the darker of the two. Spearmint Mentos have a light greenish coloration, and like all Mentos, possess a chalk-like consistency.
The Mint flavor variety unsurprisingly taste like peppermint, and could be considered to possess a breath freshening function as well as a cool, menthol-like aftertaste. Mixed Fruit have none of these properties, but are instead quite sweet. Strawberry are also sweet, but contain a light, and unmistakable strawberry flavor. Cinnamon do indeed taste like cinnamon, possessing a semi-cinnamon burn feeling often found in strong cinnamon gum. Spearmint are closely related to Mint, and are lucky enough to serve as a freshmaker as well.
Apple Mentos, which arrived in our mailbox from Australia are yellowish/green in color and taste like apple juice.
Grape Mentos (which arrived from Japan) did, indeed have a unique undercurrent of flavor. The Grape Mentos were white with a slight purple hue (nothing major). They started off with a vague Grape flavor and then exploded into a virtual vineyard! (Reminds us of St. Joseph's Children's Aspirin) While Grape is available in the Mixed Fruit packages in America (and elsewhere) this Grape is a thousand times Grapier.
Peach Mentos (also from Japan) lacked in color, save a simple peach-ish tint) and were "pleasantly peachy". Like the grape, the flavor starts off weak and before you know it, it's like eating a real peach--packed full of flavor!
Grapefruit Mentos (Japan again) were, indeed, Grapefruit. Yellow in color, this particular flavor was very citrus-like. If you're not a citrus fan, don't try them. But, eat up if you like the breakfast fruit!
Checking in from France is Chlorophylle flavored Mentos. Apparently, Chlorophylle is French for "Spearmint" because these were not entirely unlike our version of the other white mint. Just a tad bit Mintier.
One of the most interesting flavors (so far) has been 'Mint- Licorice Mentos', also known in Europe as 'Drop Lakrids'. These have the same texture and color as Mint, but when you chow down, hold on! At first, the taste is of light mint, and you might suspect Freshness trickery. However, then the taste of licorice pops up and you feel O.K. And then, just as the unsuspecting taster is content with the current state of Freshness, it changes again! A sudden overpowering licorice flavor consumes you! Needless to say, this flavor gives you quite a ride. A Special Note: If you don't like black licorice A LOT, don't try these. They are only for the boldest and Freshest to consume.
All the way from the Netherlands, we have a new flavor: "Strong" This, quite possibly the boldest of all flavors really lives up to its name. The Mint packed in this dark blue tube starts mildly, and then clears your sinuses faster than any Altoid could. The Mento itself looks the same as a regular "Mint" Mento to the naked eye--but watch your tastebuds!
Mentos' texture is not uniform. The candies have a thin crunchy shell and when chewed, disintegrate into a gum like consistency. If appropriate, they then release their breath freshening characteristics.
Packaging:
In the United States:
Mentos candies come in cylinder shaped 'rolls', with 14 included in each roll. The label consists of 'mentos' written in block letters, covering approximately 2/3 of the roll lengthwise. Next to this logo is the flavor identification, (i.e. 'mint' or 'mixed fruit') although flavor identification can be more readily obtained from the background coloring of the label. Mint has a misty bluish white photograph of many Mentos scattered about, while mixed fruit has a more colorful representation of the same shapes, including purple, orange, and yellow disks. Cinnamon wrappers are similar, but are colored in a deep blood red. Strawberry wrappers are a lighter, almost orangey red. Spearmint follows Mint's lead with a clouded hue, this time more green than blue.
It is important to note that the colors displayed on the package are actually much more vibrant and deep than that of the actual product. Do not be misled, all Mentos have a very light hue to them, no matter what the flavor.
A CHANGE IN THE WRAPPER?
It has come to our attention that the flavor designations on the right side of the Mentos roll have shrunk! The former Spearmint and Mixed Fruit designations became smaller in 1996 for some reason. This change did not occur with Cinnamon or Strawberry.
This is yet another mystery left for us meddling kids to solve...
As it turns out, Eric Johnson discovered that Mentos can also be found in 4 packs, which are sold for the bargain price of 99 cents at the College Park CVS pharmacy near the University of Maryland. (That works out to 24.75 cents a tube!)
Also, several alert folks say they found buckets of "Mini Mentos" in stores such as "Office Depot". But these sightings are, as of yet, unconfirmed.
In Canada: The Mentos are almost exactly the same as the rolls in America, except the flavor designations are in French as well as English.
In Arab Countries: Mentos are typically sold in smaller rolls of 11 candies. These packages weigh 30g or 1.06 OZ, although they do have "Jumbo Size" rolls, which contain the standard complement of 14. The labels are in Arabic and English, including the "Mentos" block lettering! This is the first we've noted the Mentos logo in a different language (and alphabet)! (Thanks to Isaac Zalpeter for this info!)
In Australia: The packaging of the Apple Mentos from Australia had all the same qualities mentioned in the US section, above. This time, though, the package was light green in color.
In England: Their version of Mixed Fruit is "Fruit". Under the Mentos logo is the phrase, "Chewy fruit flavour sweets" and "Pastilli/Dragéer/Frugt- pastiller" (the first e in Drageer has an accent mark) The flavor designation is also noted as "Frukt". The mint says: "Pastilli/Chewy Mints" and "Pebermynte-pastiller/Dragéer" (with the accent again)
In Taiwan: The Mentos block lettering is in Chinese and English! (And it looks beauteous) The rolls contain 11 Mentos and the Flavor Designation. Otherwise, they look the same.
In China: You can also get individually wrapped Mentos! Alan Mackey received some and he mentions that the tiny cellophane envelopes do nothing to preserve freshness.
In Italy: The rolls of Mentos brought to us from Italy were very similar to American Mentos aside from obvious language differences. In Italy, they each have two languages on their flavor designations: Mint had "menta" and "mentol" Spearmint had "clorofila" and "clorofilla" and the Mixed Fruit has "gusto frutta" along with "frutas"
Ingredients:
Mint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, natural flavor, corn starch, gum arabic.
Mixed Fruit: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, natural and artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.
Strawberry: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, citric acid, gelatine, dextrin, corn starch, artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.
Cinnamon: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, corn starch, cinnamon, natural and artificial flavors, salt, gum arabic, artificial colors (yellow 5, red 3, blue 2).
Spearmint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, natural flavors, corn starch, gum arabic, artificial color (blue 2).
Apple: (from Australia) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, food acid (citric acid), apple powder, starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), flavour, colours (E101, E140), thickener (dextrin), vegetable gum (acacia gum).
Licorice: (from The Netherlands) sugar, glucose syrup, vegetable oil, licorice-extract, ammonium-chloride, starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), flavourings.
Tropical Fruit: (from Israel) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, citric acid, starch, beef gelatine, dextrin, gum arabic, flavours, colours (E101, E160e, E162) (Thanks to Isaac Salpeter for translating these ingredients from the French!)
Chlorophylle: (from France) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), natural flavourings,
Grape: (From Hong Kong) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, citric acid, corn starch, gelatine, dextrin, gum arabic, natural and artificial flavours, colour.
Strong: (from The Netherlands) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, corn starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), natural flavouring, colour.
Mentos History
The Mentos Mole discovered (through some Van Melle writings) that Mentos were manufactured in Holland beginning in the 1950's. But, we still don't know when they came to America.
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, drummer with "Weird Al" Yankovic, recalls enjoying Mentos back in the early 70's. He tells us that before they were widely distributed, he actually had to put effort into finding them, usually at an import-type confectionery store.
Just Schimmelpenninck says that his mother has been carrying rolls of DropMentos in her purse for approximately 25 years in the Netherlands.
In about 1988, Hannah Meehan recalls radio ads for Mentos! The ads featured a medieval princess being held hostage by a talking dragon. The dragon is looking forward to eating the knight who will undoubtedly try to rescue her, because knights are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. When the knight in shining armor arrives, he informs the dragon that Mentos not only have the same qualities, they are much easier to chew than armor, and are less likely to irritate the locals. The dragon eats a Mentos, the princess is rescued and they all live happily ever after.
Hannah mentions that, although the knight was undeniably fresh, there was no mention of the word "Freshmaker".
Hannah's radio ad, it turns out, was also an old pre-Freshmaker television spot for Mentos! During a recent on-line Mentos sponsored concert, a Mentos ad-reel was shown featuring several dozen extremely old Mentos commercials.
Among them: The Fresh Knight spot...an animated adventure featuring a knight, a dragon, and some Mentos. Also included were a series of commercials featuring a snappy little jingle, (a slight variation of "Happy Birthday") with the lyrics "Happy Mentos to Me" And a quite funny commercial, obviously shot during the height of the cold war. A Russian Cosmonaut and an American Astronaut are going on the first joint-mission, and they are allowed to bring but one tasty treat. The Russian wants gum, the American a mint. They argue & argue until an announcer comes on and suggests "Mentos...the chewy mint!"
The commercials were, as you can imagine, quite old and looked to be in poor condition (which could be attributed to the fact that we were watching them over the internet). None of the commercials mentioned Freshness of any magnitude.
And finally, February 1998 brought us our first Mentos magazine ad. To the best of our knowledge, Mentos never advertised outside of TV or radio before. It was more an ad for the Freshmaker Tour than the Freshmaker, but it appeared in the February 19, 1998 issue of Rolling Stone on page 57. The full-page color ad featured the Freshmaker Tour dates, and a live-action version of the "Thumbs-Up" design.
Pop Culture Mentos Sightings
Christopher Heyn tells us that he's the Script Cooardinator for the TV show Baywatch. He (among other things) works with one of the co-producers in product placement in the show. In other words, he makes sure certain products are in certain scenes. he says that in 1994, Van Melle spent "their entire TV advertising budget for the 1994 season" on "Baywatch". So, if you are lucky enough to catch reruns of the '94 season, keep your eyeballs peeled for rolls of Mentos roaming around on the beaches.
Jason Alan Pfaff was first to report that on the September 12, 1996 episode of "3rd Rock From the Sun" one of the characters picked up a scrap from a table and said "Mmmm, a Mento!", popped it into his mouth, looked disguested, took it out and said, "oooh...not a Mento." Anyone catch this gem on tape?
The band Supernova has a song called Mentos on their CD entitled Ages 3 and Up. The song, a 30 second salute to Mentos, features the same chorus repeated three times: "Uno momento...everybody do the Mentos!" We're still researching exactly what that means, but it's a fun song
On Valentine's Day, 1996, The Foo Fighters released a video for their song Big Me. The song's video, directed by Jesse Peretz is a very well-produced spoof of three different Mentos Commercials.
Mentos T-Shirts
Ever since the Newsweek article came out, (see section 6b) one of the most Frequently Asked Questions of us is "How can I get me one of them there Mentos T-shirts?" Well, after much deliberation, we've come up with the following: Find someone wearing the shirt, run them over with your car, take the shirt off them, then flash your roll of Mentos at them before they call the police.
Actually, Van Melle had offered Mentos T-Shirts a few years back. Apparently, there was a sticker that came with Mentos saying "For Free Mentos T-shirt, Call 1-800-33T-Shirt" A recording would tell you to send 10 Mentos wrappers in to get your free T-shirt. Sadly, this offer expired a number of years ago, and the 800 number has since been disconnected.
Mentos - the Rocktrax (Yes, it's a CD)
• : The Mentos Song: Fresh Goes Better
• 2: Cockney Rebel- Make Me Smile
• 3: Marc Almond- A Lover Spurned
• 4: The Specials (Feat. Rico, Dick Cuthell)- Ghost Town
• 5: The Proclaimers- I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)
• 6: The Knack- My Sharona
• 7: Talking Heads- Blind
• 8: Pat Benetar- Love is a Battlefield
• 9: Runrig- News from Heaven
• 10: Sunny- Stop!
• 11: Blondie- Heart of Glass
• 12: Billy Squire- The Stroke
• 13: Moon Martin- Bad Case of Loving You
• 14: Mink DeVille- Cadillac Walk
• 15: Huey Lewis and the News- Power of Love
• 16: Frankie Miller- Darlin'
• 17: Peter Tosh- Johnny B. Goode
Mentos hats
During the make-your-own-Mentos-commercial contest in Australia, one of the prizes was a Mentos hat. This white baseball cap with a blue rim had the famous Big block lettering in blue, along with, in a red block with white letters: "The Freshmaker"
Mentos backpacks
Another prize available in Australia, this blue schoolbag made of foam-like material is quite the beauty. The Mentos logo consists of the word "Mentos" outlined in white, allowing the blue from the bag to spill into the outline.
Mentos watches
Complete with the "Fresh Goes Better" thumbs-up logo, these are collectors items, also given out in Australia as a prize in the contest.
Mentos personal radio
Another Australian item, but no word on if it's from the contest or not. According to Nick, the radio is "a tiny bit bigger than a normal roll of mentos" and there is a place at the top of the roll to plug in your headphones.
Mentos Basketball
India
Mentos reaffirms its ‘Get Smart’ positioning
The entire peppermint sweets category is all about getting smart. And Mentos is no different. For the fifth time now, Mentos is reaffirming its ‘Get smart’ positioning, though many feel that this positioning has reached saturation point.
Sameer Suneja, head, marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India, says, “Other ads in the category generally talk about fresh breath, or how a mint helps a guy attract a girl. Mentos doesn’t talk about the functional benefit at all – it works on a psychological level, where people associate the brand with the imagery of ‘smartness’.”
However, according to Abhijit Avasthi, group creative director, O&M, Mumbai, the agency behind the Mentos campaigns, in such a scenario, the brand that says it in the most refreshing manner grabs the market. He says, “Worldwide, Mentos has been positioned as ‘The Fresh Maker’. But in India, we wanted to adapt this concept in terms of ‘Thinking fresh’ and that is how ‘Dimaag ki batti jala de’ happened.”
He adds, “We were among the first to establish this positioning, around four years ago. So, in a sense, we have the first mover advantage. Above all, we have successfully used the positioning for our previous four commercials. But this time, it is a new way of saying it.”
The candies themselves come in several varieties across the globe, the most common being 'Mint' and 'Mixed Fruit' (or 'Fruit' in many cultures). For those of you in the US, you used to find Strawberry, Cinnamon, and Spearmint--but those are now gone (See section 5a: Flavor Issues) Taste and color are drastically different between them,but in every other way, they are quite similar.
The shape of a Mentos candy is disklike, with an ellipsical bulge in the middle. (It has been suggested that they are 'lenticular' meaning 'lentil-shaped'.) They measure 3/4"in diameter, and at their largest point, 6/16" tall.
Net weight is reported as 1.3 OZ/37.5 g, but this was impossible to confirm at the time of this writing.
Coloring of the Mint candies is a chalky light hue, that extends throughout the entire candy. The fruit variety contains three colors, purple (grape), yellow (lemon), and orange (orange). Cinnamon and Strawberry have a reddish/pinkish hue, Cinnamon being the darker of the two. Spearmint Mentos have a light greenish coloration, and like all Mentos, possess a chalk-like consistency.
The Mint flavor variety unsurprisingly taste like peppermint, and could be considered to possess a breath freshening function as well as a cool, menthol-like aftertaste. Mixed Fruit have none of these properties, but are instead quite sweet. Strawberry are also sweet, but contain a light, and unmistakable strawberry flavor. Cinnamon do indeed taste like cinnamon, possessing a semi-cinnamon burn feeling often found in strong cinnamon gum. Spearmint are closely related to Mint, and are lucky enough to serve as a freshmaker as well.
Apple Mentos, which arrived in our mailbox from Australia are yellowish/green in color and taste like apple juice.
Grape Mentos (which arrived from Japan) did, indeed have a unique undercurrent of flavor. The Grape Mentos were white with a slight purple hue (nothing major). They started off with a vague Grape flavor and then exploded into a virtual vineyard! (Reminds us of St. Joseph's Children's Aspirin) While Grape is available in the Mixed Fruit packages in America (and elsewhere) this Grape is a thousand times Grapier.
Peach Mentos (also from Japan) lacked in color, save a simple peach-ish tint) and were "pleasantly peachy". Like the grape, the flavor starts off weak and before you know it, it's like eating a real peach--packed full of flavor!
Grapefruit Mentos (Japan again) were, indeed, Grapefruit. Yellow in color, this particular flavor was very citrus-like. If you're not a citrus fan, don't try them. But, eat up if you like the breakfast fruit!
Checking in from France is Chlorophylle flavored Mentos. Apparently, Chlorophylle is French for "Spearmint" because these were not entirely unlike our version of the other white mint. Just a tad bit Mintier.
One of the most interesting flavors (so far) has been 'Mint- Licorice Mentos', also known in Europe as 'Drop Lakrids'. These have the same texture and color as Mint, but when you chow down, hold on! At first, the taste is of light mint, and you might suspect Freshness trickery. However, then the taste of licorice pops up and you feel O.K. And then, just as the unsuspecting taster is content with the current state of Freshness, it changes again! A sudden overpowering licorice flavor consumes you! Needless to say, this flavor gives you quite a ride. A Special Note: If you don't like black licorice A LOT, don't try these. They are only for the boldest and Freshest to consume.
All the way from the Netherlands, we have a new flavor: "Strong" This, quite possibly the boldest of all flavors really lives up to its name. The Mint packed in this dark blue tube starts mildly, and then clears your sinuses faster than any Altoid could. The Mento itself looks the same as a regular "Mint" Mento to the naked eye--but watch your tastebuds!
Mentos' texture is not uniform. The candies have a thin crunchy shell and when chewed, disintegrate into a gum like consistency. If appropriate, they then release their breath freshening characteristics.
Packaging:
In the United States:
Mentos candies come in cylinder shaped 'rolls', with 14 included in each roll. The label consists of 'mentos' written in block letters, covering approximately 2/3 of the roll lengthwise. Next to this logo is the flavor identification, (i.e. 'mint' or 'mixed fruit') although flavor identification can be more readily obtained from the background coloring of the label. Mint has a misty bluish white photograph of many Mentos scattered about, while mixed fruit has a more colorful representation of the same shapes, including purple, orange, and yellow disks. Cinnamon wrappers are similar, but are colored in a deep blood red. Strawberry wrappers are a lighter, almost orangey red. Spearmint follows Mint's lead with a clouded hue, this time more green than blue.
It is important to note that the colors displayed on the package are actually much more vibrant and deep than that of the actual product. Do not be misled, all Mentos have a very light hue to them, no matter what the flavor.
A CHANGE IN THE WRAPPER?
It has come to our attention that the flavor designations on the right side of the Mentos roll have shrunk! The former Spearmint and Mixed Fruit designations became smaller in 1996 for some reason. This change did not occur with Cinnamon or Strawberry.
This is yet another mystery left for us meddling kids to solve...
As it turns out, Eric Johnson discovered that Mentos can also be found in 4 packs, which are sold for the bargain price of 99 cents at the College Park CVS pharmacy near the University of Maryland. (That works out to 24.75 cents a tube!)
Also, several alert folks say they found buckets of "Mini Mentos" in stores such as "Office Depot". But these sightings are, as of yet, unconfirmed.
In Canada: The Mentos are almost exactly the same as the rolls in America, except the flavor designations are in French as well as English.
In Arab Countries: Mentos are typically sold in smaller rolls of 11 candies. These packages weigh 30g or 1.06 OZ, although they do have "Jumbo Size" rolls, which contain the standard complement of 14. The labels are in Arabic and English, including the "Mentos" block lettering! This is the first we've noted the Mentos logo in a different language (and alphabet)! (Thanks to Isaac Zalpeter for this info!)
In Australia: The packaging of the Apple Mentos from Australia had all the same qualities mentioned in the US section, above. This time, though, the package was light green in color.
In England: Their version of Mixed Fruit is "Fruit". Under the Mentos logo is the phrase, "Chewy fruit flavour sweets" and "Pastilli/Dragéer/Frugt- pastiller" (the first e in Drageer has an accent mark) The flavor designation is also noted as "Frukt". The mint says: "Pastilli/Chewy Mints" and "Pebermynte-pastiller/Dragéer" (with the accent again)
In Taiwan: The Mentos block lettering is in Chinese and English! (And it looks beauteous) The rolls contain 11 Mentos and the Flavor Designation. Otherwise, they look the same.
In China: You can also get individually wrapped Mentos! Alan Mackey received some and he mentions that the tiny cellophane envelopes do nothing to preserve freshness.
In Italy: The rolls of Mentos brought to us from Italy were very similar to American Mentos aside from obvious language differences. In Italy, they each have two languages on their flavor designations: Mint had "menta" and "mentol" Spearmint had "clorofila" and "clorofilla" and the Mixed Fruit has "gusto frutta" along with "frutas"
Ingredients:
Mint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, natural flavor, corn starch, gum arabic.
Mixed Fruit: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, natural and artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.
Strawberry: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, citric acid, gelatine, dextrin, corn starch, artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.
Cinnamon: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, corn starch, cinnamon, natural and artificial flavors, salt, gum arabic, artificial colors (yellow 5, red 3, blue 2).
Spearmint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, gelatine, dextrin, natural flavors, corn starch, gum arabic, artificial color (blue 2).
Apple: (from Australia) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, food acid (citric acid), apple powder, starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), flavour, colours (E101, E140), thickener (dextrin), vegetable gum (acacia gum).
Licorice: (from The Netherlands) sugar, glucose syrup, vegetable oil, licorice-extract, ammonium-chloride, starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), flavourings.
Tropical Fruit: (from Israel) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, citric acid, starch, beef gelatine, dextrin, gum arabic, flavours, colours (E101, E160e, E162) (Thanks to Isaac Salpeter for translating these ingredients from the French!)
Chlorophylle: (from France) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), natural flavourings,
Grape: (From Hong Kong) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, citric acid, corn starch, gelatine, dextrin, gum arabic, natural and artificial flavours, colour.
Strong: (from The Netherlands) sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, corn starch, gelatine, dextrin, gelling agent (gum arabic), natural flavouring, colour.
Mentos History
The Mentos Mole discovered (through some Van Melle writings) that Mentos were manufactured in Holland beginning in the 1950's. But, we still don't know when they came to America.
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, drummer with "Weird Al" Yankovic, recalls enjoying Mentos back in the early 70's. He tells us that before they were widely distributed, he actually had to put effort into finding them, usually at an import-type confectionery store.
Just Schimmelpenninck says that his mother has been carrying rolls of DropMentos in her purse for approximately 25 years in the Netherlands.
In about 1988, Hannah Meehan recalls radio ads for Mentos! The ads featured a medieval princess being held hostage by a talking dragon. The dragon is looking forward to eating the knight who will undoubtedly try to rescue her, because knights are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. When the knight in shining armor arrives, he informs the dragon that Mentos not only have the same qualities, they are much easier to chew than armor, and are less likely to irritate the locals. The dragon eats a Mentos, the princess is rescued and they all live happily ever after.
Hannah mentions that, although the knight was undeniably fresh, there was no mention of the word "Freshmaker".
Hannah's radio ad, it turns out, was also an old pre-Freshmaker television spot for Mentos! During a recent on-line Mentos sponsored concert, a Mentos ad-reel was shown featuring several dozen extremely old Mentos commercials.
Among them: The Fresh Knight spot...an animated adventure featuring a knight, a dragon, and some Mentos. Also included were a series of commercials featuring a snappy little jingle, (a slight variation of "Happy Birthday") with the lyrics "Happy Mentos to Me" And a quite funny commercial, obviously shot during the height of the cold war. A Russian Cosmonaut and an American Astronaut are going on the first joint-mission, and they are allowed to bring but one tasty treat. The Russian wants gum, the American a mint. They argue & argue until an announcer comes on and suggests "Mentos...the chewy mint!"
The commercials were, as you can imagine, quite old and looked to be in poor condition (which could be attributed to the fact that we were watching them over the internet). None of the commercials mentioned Freshness of any magnitude.
And finally, February 1998 brought us our first Mentos magazine ad. To the best of our knowledge, Mentos never advertised outside of TV or radio before. It was more an ad for the Freshmaker Tour than the Freshmaker, but it appeared in the February 19, 1998 issue of Rolling Stone on page 57. The full-page color ad featured the Freshmaker Tour dates, and a live-action version of the "Thumbs-Up" design.
Pop Culture Mentos Sightings
Christopher Heyn tells us that he's the Script Cooardinator for the TV show Baywatch. He (among other things) works with one of the co-producers in product placement in the show. In other words, he makes sure certain products are in certain scenes. he says that in 1994, Van Melle spent "their entire TV advertising budget for the 1994 season" on "Baywatch". So, if you are lucky enough to catch reruns of the '94 season, keep your eyeballs peeled for rolls of Mentos roaming around on the beaches.
Jason Alan Pfaff was first to report that on the September 12, 1996 episode of "3rd Rock From the Sun" one of the characters picked up a scrap from a table and said "Mmmm, a Mento!", popped it into his mouth, looked disguested, took it out and said, "oooh...not a Mento." Anyone catch this gem on tape?
The band Supernova has a song called Mentos on their CD entitled Ages 3 and Up. The song, a 30 second salute to Mentos, features the same chorus repeated three times: "Uno momento...everybody do the Mentos!" We're still researching exactly what that means, but it's a fun song
On Valentine's Day, 1996, The Foo Fighters released a video for their song Big Me. The song's video, directed by Jesse Peretz is a very well-produced spoof of three different Mentos Commercials.
Mentos T-Shirts
Ever since the Newsweek article came out, (see section 6b) one of the most Frequently Asked Questions of us is "How can I get me one of them there Mentos T-shirts?" Well, after much deliberation, we've come up with the following: Find someone wearing the shirt, run them over with your car, take the shirt off them, then flash your roll of Mentos at them before they call the police.
Actually, Van Melle had offered Mentos T-Shirts a few years back. Apparently, there was a sticker that came with Mentos saying "For Free Mentos T-shirt, Call 1-800-33T-Shirt" A recording would tell you to send 10 Mentos wrappers in to get your free T-shirt. Sadly, this offer expired a number of years ago, and the 800 number has since been disconnected.
Mentos - the Rocktrax (Yes, it's a CD)
• : The Mentos Song: Fresh Goes Better
• 2: Cockney Rebel- Make Me Smile
• 3: Marc Almond- A Lover Spurned
• 4: The Specials (Feat. Rico, Dick Cuthell)- Ghost Town
• 5: The Proclaimers- I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)
• 6: The Knack- My Sharona
• 7: Talking Heads- Blind
• 8: Pat Benetar- Love is a Battlefield
• 9: Runrig- News from Heaven
• 10: Sunny- Stop!
• 11: Blondie- Heart of Glass
• 12: Billy Squire- The Stroke
• 13: Moon Martin- Bad Case of Loving You
• 14: Mink DeVille- Cadillac Walk
• 15: Huey Lewis and the News- Power of Love
• 16: Frankie Miller- Darlin'
• 17: Peter Tosh- Johnny B. Goode
Mentos hats
During the make-your-own-Mentos-commercial contest in Australia, one of the prizes was a Mentos hat. This white baseball cap with a blue rim had the famous Big block lettering in blue, along with, in a red block with white letters: "The Freshmaker"
Mentos backpacks
Another prize available in Australia, this blue schoolbag made of foam-like material is quite the beauty. The Mentos logo consists of the word "Mentos" outlined in white, allowing the blue from the bag to spill into the outline.
Mentos watches
Complete with the "Fresh Goes Better" thumbs-up logo, these are collectors items, also given out in Australia as a prize in the contest.
Mentos personal radio
Another Australian item, but no word on if it's from the contest or not. According to Nick, the radio is "a tiny bit bigger than a normal roll of mentos" and there is a place at the top of the roll to plug in your headphones.
Mentos Basketball
India
Mentos reaffirms its ‘Get Smart’ positioning
The entire peppermint sweets category is all about getting smart. And Mentos is no different. For the fifth time now, Mentos is reaffirming its ‘Get smart’ positioning, though many feel that this positioning has reached saturation point.
Sameer Suneja, head, marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India, says, “Other ads in the category generally talk about fresh breath, or how a mint helps a guy attract a girl. Mentos doesn’t talk about the functional benefit at all – it works on a psychological level, where people associate the brand with the imagery of ‘smartness’.”
However, according to Abhijit Avasthi, group creative director, O&M, Mumbai, the agency behind the Mentos campaigns, in such a scenario, the brand that says it in the most refreshing manner grabs the market. He says, “Worldwide, Mentos has been positioned as ‘The Fresh Maker’. But in India, we wanted to adapt this concept in terms of ‘Thinking fresh’ and that is how ‘Dimaag ki batti jala de’ happened.”
He adds, “We were among the first to establish this positioning, around four years ago. So, in a sense, we have the first mover advantage. Above all, we have successfully used the positioning for our previous four commercials. But this time, it is a new way of saying it.”