M is for Mentos

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M is for Mentos, next in the 90s Nibbles series. Mentos, the fresh maker! I don’t know if I was the only kid that was into Mentos. They weren’t sweet enough for most. One thing is for sure. Nobody can forget those commercials.

The incessant cheesy Mentos commercials became a cultural milestone. It didn’t take long for it to get stuck in our heads: “Nothing gets to you, staying fresh staying cool, with Mentos fresh and full of life!” “Bustle” magazine perfectly describes the formula:

*Attractive person is casually going about their day

*Attractive person is faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle

*Attractive person is clearly struck with a brilliant idea, smiles, and pops a Mentos

*Attractive person endeavors completely crazy scheme to get around an obstacle; onlookers gaze on in shock and disapproval.

*Plan succeeds; attractive person smiles; onlooker laughs approvingly.

*Attractive person smiles at the camera and shows us Mentos.

Who could forget the classic just painted bench suit guy who would have been laughed at the minute he entered the office? Or the blonde guy who went through a car to avoid walking 10 feet out of his way. So many shenanigans! So little logic!

The campiness of the commercials was not an accident. Low sales drove the company to take drastic measures in the 1990s, so they cut their flavor selection from 50 to 2 and hired German ad agency Pahnke & Partners to make those iconic ads. It wasn’t long before Mentos was being talked about by everyone. A Foo Fighter parody video and mention in Clueless helped sales rise. The novelty wore off in 1999, but the commercials forever live on in our memories.