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MEMORIES:
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“Mentos… the Freshmaker!”
The Freshmaker’s been at it for over five decades. Those lucky enough to be in the Netherlands during the 1950s got first glimpses on the soft and chewy mints covered with a hard candy shell that would become a pop culture phenomenon. In fact, there’s little out there giving any kind of history or date for their arrival in North America, only speculation and mentions across the internet.
The most popular flavors for Mentos are mint and mixed fruit, which includes a mix of orange, strawberry and lemon flavors. The flavors in “mixed fruit” are available on their own, along with other flavors growing in popularity, such as green apple and cinnamon. Around the world, fans of Mentos can find flavors such as grape, wintergreen, raisin, grapefuirt, spearmint, strawberry and lemon yoghurt, currant and even black licorice. Today, they’re even available “sugar-free.”
Campy commercials in the 1990s gave Mentos their reputation as “The Freshmaker.” Debuted in 1992, two now-famous commercials featured people facing day-to-day issues. In one, a woman breaks the heel on one of her high-heeled shoes while passing the outdoor seating section of a restaurant. Frustrated, yet able to smile at the handsome (yet way too interested) gentleman watching her, she sits down, pops a Mentos and the solution (at least to her) is evident: break off both heels. The flirtatious diner is clearly impressed, or in shock that she just ripped apart and threw away a perfectly repairable pair of shoes. In the other commercial, a businessman takes a break on a park bench. Sure enough, the bench was freshly painted, as evidenced by the painter, who had his back turned while the businessman took his seat. Bright white stripes of wet paint have ruined the suit. (Insert sad face here). But not to worry! After popping a Mentos, our hero lies down on the bench and rolls around. Voilà! Pinstripes!
Most North American viewers assumed the commercials were “European” and were from the Mentos country of origin, the Netherlands. New commercials in a similar vein would show up from time to time, as well as many spoofs, parodies and imitations. One episode of Family Guy features John Wilkes Booth botching up the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln until he gets help from “Mintos.” In 1996, the Foo Fighters paid tribute to the candy by featuring three parody commercials in their video for the song “Big Me.” Their candy? Footos… the Freshfighter.
Bringing fame to Mentos more recently has been the Internet phenom, the Mentos and Soda Geyser. Videos for the experiment abound, and usually involving dropping several Mentos candies into a bottle of diet cola. The result is a geyser-like eruption caused by a physical reaction (rather than chemical) with the pores on the candy, the shape and rapidly expanding carbon dioxide bubbles. The popularity of the oft-filmed experiments brought the Freshmaker back into the public eye, inciting the masses to buy more Mentos.
So whether they’re eaten or played with, Mentos – now available in over a hundred countries – are sure to be keeping us fresh and full of life for many more decades to come!
