The Mentos FAQ V1.1b (9/28/94 update)
(c) 1994 Heath Doerr doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu
World Wide Web .html conversion by Timothy F. Kingwell
This FAQ was stolen from: http://www.oac.uci.edu/indiv/dkrause/fun/television/mentos/mentos-faq.html, and is probably out of date by now.
A sassy young lady sashays past an open air French style cafe, gaining the attention of a business man, and at the same time interrupting his newspaper enjoyment. As she glides past, a footwear malfunction occurs, leaving her sans one heel. She reaches for her secret freshness inducer, Mentos. After administering a piece of the magic elixir of nuttiness, she breaks off the remaining spike, proclaiming to the world her resourcefulness, and endless freshness. The man in the cafe is undoubtedly impressed.
A young lad and his pals file through a mob of fanatics and paparazzi, in order to get a closer look at their favorite star. However, their adventure takes them over the legal boundaries of said activity, which is then pointed out to them by the authorities. After a bit of contemplation, and a hearty dose of freshness ala Mentos, our hero cunningly disguises himself as a member of the media, and breaks through the defenses of the establishment.
A young woman finds herself in a bit of a pinch, as she discovers that she has packed too much, and her bags are a most bothersome burden. But she has no fear, it is a burden which is not insurmountable, especially with Mentos on her side. She unsheathes her glimmering blue tube of freshness, and holds it out stretched, like the mighty Excalibur, and although shortening it by 1/14, this weapon has not lost its power. She consumes the pellet of perkiness, and decrees that she and only she shall be the one to ride the baggage cart, and all the other most unfresh patrons of the airport shall bear the full weight of their baggage. Her friends cheer, and dream of one day achieving a freshness such as hers.
Only an unfresh person would park his car in such a way as to make his fellow motorist unable to go about her merry way, but that's just what our heroine is faced with in this episode of the Mentos saga. After an exchange of dirty looks, and communication of the parkee's need for promptness, the young girl contemplates her dilemma with the aid of a freshmaker. She has a revelation, and summons what looks to be the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line from a construction site across the way. With surprisingly little convincing, the barbarians lift her Fiat into the road, and as she thanks them she glances in the way of her nemesis, only to add an exclamation point to her freshness.
While enjoying a pleasant afternoon at the mall, a teen and his companions suddenly spot one of their mothers. She raises her umbrella, signifying that she has acquired her target, and means to move in for the kill. Quickly searching his person, the teen removes from his pocket the only thing to help him out of this bind, Mentos. Thinking quickly, and now sporting fresh, clean breath, he seizes a baseball cap from a nearby mannequin. The perfect disguise! Placing it on his head in a diagonal pattern, he strikes a pose and avoids his pursuer. She spots him again, but this time only after entering the escalator. Knowing she has been vanquished, mom shakes her weapon yet again, all the while thinking, 'My son is sooo fresh!'
There is little peace in the land of Mentos, as yet another teen is faced with a distressing problem. While crossing the street, he is separated from his friends, and nearly from his legs by an over anxious motorist. Finding himself needing to traverse the street, but without a normal means to do so, he again thanks his lucky stars he remembered the freshmaker. His supply is reduced by one, but his freshness is increased exponentially. Opening the rear door, he climbs through the auto, while the driver looks over his shoulder in astonishment. Upon exiting, the youth shrugs at the motorist, Mentos in hand. Although a bit shaken, the passenger acknowledges the care free youths with an approving glance as he speeds away. "Wait till the wife hears of my brush with freshness!"
In the final episode, once again the establishment has prevented some teens from achieving their goal. At the backstage door to a rock concert, our friends are star struck and must find a way backstage to meet their idols, demonstrate their freshness, and enjoy each others minty clean breath. Musical paraphernalia is being unloaded, and with the aid of a bandanna, one teen slips through the line undetected. At the last moment, a security guard spots him, but instead of pouncing on him and beating him to a bloody mess with his nightstick, he lets him go showing an expression that could only mean one thing, "Those crazy kids!". Bravo!
Thanks to Jan Setje-Eilers (jse@expert.cc.purdue.edu), the mystery of the Mentos commercials' origin has been solved. The ads originated in Germany, and concrete proof of this has been obtained. In 'The Three Second Car Jacking', the street the incident takes place on is located in Munich, Germany. Also, the characters of 'Psycho Mutant Killer Mom' are actors from a sitcom taking place in Northern Germany. The mother, (incidentally, whose last name is 'Teufel', which means Devil in German) is a crazy character in the show, and one who would be avoided normally. Anyone who has seen the sitcom, (i.e. Germans) would understand this, but the American audience is understandably confused.
- Note:
- The spots are run in English throughout the world.
- Note 2:
- According to Chad Jones (cjones@gse.ucla.edu), 'High Heel Treachery' was filmed on the Third Street Promenade, a shopping district in Santa Monica, CA. Also, 'The 3 Second Car Jacking' was filmed in Downtown Los Angeles. Joseph Hernandez (jthern@OCF.Berkeley.EDU) says one of the buildings in the background is the First Interstate Bank Building. Personally, I find it hard to believe that German actors were flown to America to film commercials, but you can draw your own conclusions.
'Doo doo doo, doo-doo, do-Wah!'
It doesn't matter what comes, fresh goes better in life, and Mentos is fresh and full of life.
Nothing gets to you, staying fresh staying cool, with Mentos, fresh and full of life.
Fresh goes better, Mentos freshness, fresh goes better with Mentos, fresh and full of life!
Mentos, the freshmaker!
The candies themselves come in five varieties; 'Mint', 'Mixed Fruit', 'Cinnamon', 'Strawberry', and 'Spearmint'. 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. 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. The differences between the flavors contained in a mixed fruit package are small. Color seems to be the only real distinguishable quality. 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 breath freshener as well.
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.
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.
Nutritional Data
P.O. Box 18190
Erlanger, KY 41018
Van Melle
Breda / Holland
Stuart Alexander & Co. Pty. Ltd.
62 Rosebery Ave.
Rosebery, N.S.W. 2018 Australia
Van Melle, Inc.
Erlanger, KY 41018
9/2/94: V.01 (beta)
9/6/94: V.5
9/7/94: V.9
9/14/94: V1.0 (final)
9/27/94: V1.1a (update)
9/28/94: V1.1b (.html version)