Subject: The Mentos FAQ V2.0 (11/2/94 update)
From: [email-masked] (bacardi)
Date: 2 Nov 1994 19:59:55 -0500
Newsgroups: alt.tv.commercials,rec.arts.tv,alt.religion.kibology

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		  The Mentos FAQ V2.0 (11/2/94 update)
	  (c) 1994 Heath Doerr  [email-masked]

		e-mail auto server: [email-masked]
	   ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/asuter/coolstuff/mentos.faq
       html conversion by Timothy F. Kingwell ([email-masked])

	Index:

	[*=Updated sections; ^=New sections]

	Section 1: Commercial Synopsis
		1a: Commercial History, Origin, Explanation*
		1b: Jingle Lyrics
	Section 2: The Candies*
		2a: Packaging
		2b: Ingredients
		2c: Manufacturial Data
		2d: Imitations*
	Section 3: Abbreviations
	Section 4: Miscellaneous*
	Section 5: Credits*
	Section 6: History*

Section 1:  Commercial Synopsis

1.  The Broken Shoe  (or 'High Heel Treachery')

	 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.

2.  The Fake Photographer  (or 'Those Crazy Kids I')

	 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.
 
3.  The Airport Tram Ride  (or 'Baggage Claim Blues')

	 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.

4.  The Car Movers  (or 'Overalls and Mentos')

	 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.

5.  Evading Mom  (or 'Psycho Mutant Killer Mom')

	 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!'

6.  Through the Car  (or 'The 3 Second Car Jacking')

	 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!"
	 
7.  The Backstage Crew  (or 'Those Crazy Kids II')

	 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!

Commercial History, Origin, and Explanation:

	 First an explanation;

	 Jan Setje-Eilers ([email-masked]), tells us that 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.

	 So one would normally conclude that these spots were all shot in
	 Germany, thus clearing up our national origin questions, right?
	 Wrong.
	 
	 According to Chad Jones ([email-masked]), '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 ([email-masked])
	 says one of the buildings in the background is the First Interstate
	 Bank Building.  

	 And if that's not good enough for you:

	 Andy Brooks ([email-masked]) argues that some spots had to
	 have been shot in California, or at least in the U.S.  No where
	 else in the world can you find the 'Walk/Don't Walk' blinking
	 sign that is depicted in the '3 second Car Jacking'.  Also,
	 Germany doesn't have the yellow center lines running down the
	 middle of the streets (over there they are white).  Finally, lights
	 don't go from green directly to red.  They are initially green,
	 then are followed briefly by yellow, and then red.  It certainly
	 doesn't seem like there is any blatant insert editing or post
	 production work involved here, all the shots look as if they took
	 place on the same street corner.

	 So we can honestly conclude that the Mentos commercials are without
	 a doubt, multinational.  

	 As a final note on this subject, it was previously believed that
	 the Mentos commercials were aired in English throughout the world.
	 That is true, except for Russia!  Steven Grimm ([email-masked])
	 informed me that while staying there last year, he was surprised
	 to hear the relentlessly upbeat Mentos theme music pouring out
	 from the TV in the room across the hall.  Listening closely,
	 he determined that the lyrics were all in Russian.  He was, to 
	 his utter dismay, too slow to reach the TV in time to see which
	 ad it was.

Jingle lyrics:

	 '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!

Section 2:  The Candies

	 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.  (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.  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.  

Packaging:

	 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.

Ingredients:

	Mint: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, 
	      gelatin, dextrin, natural flavor, corn starch, 
	      gum arabic.

	Mixed Fruit: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, 
		     gelatin, dextrin, natural and artificial flavor, 
		     gum arabic, coloring.

	Strawberry: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
		    citric acid, gelatin, dextrin, corn starch,
		    artificial flavor, gum arabic, coloring.

	Cinnamon: sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil,
		  gelatin, 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,
		   gelatin, dextrin, natural flavors, corn starch,
		   gum arabic, artificial color (blue 2).

	For nutritional information, you can write to:

		     Nutritional Data
		     P.O. Box 18190
		     Erlanger, KY  41018

Manufacturer:

	Mentos are made by Van Melle, Inc. and manufactured for 
	Van Melle by:

		   Van Melle
		   Breda / Holland
 
	in Australia they are imported by:

		   Stuart Alexander & Co. Pty. Ltd.
		   62 Rosebery Ave.
		   Rosebery, N.S.W.  2018  Australia

	Van Melle's corporate headquarters:

		   Van Melle, Inc.
		   Erlanger,  KY  41018

Mentos Imitations:

	The Anti-Mento is made by Lance candies.  They are called 'Mint
	Chews', 'Fruit Chews', 'Cinnamon Chews', etc.  They are sold in 
	rolls of eleven candies of approximately the same size, shape, and 
	weight as the true confection.  Mint Chews, made in Holland for 
	Lance Inc., list exactly the same ingredients as Mint Mentos.  

	For their nutritional information, you can write to:

	Nutritional Data
	P.O. Box 32368
	Charlotte,  NC  28232

	But they are not sufficiently fresh, nor full of life, 
	to make such an inquiry worthwhile.

Section 3:  Abbreviations

    FAFOL = Fresh and full of life

Section 4:  Miscellaneous

    Item:  According to Paulo A. Pereira ([email-masked]), there is a sale 
	   on Mentos at the CVS in Porter Sq., Cambridge, MA as this is 
	   being written.  Be fresh, and save a bundle!

    Item:  Mentos are $0.54 at the Purdue Student Union.

    Item:  I am currently negotiating with the Psychology department
	   here at Purdue, in an attempt to obtain a research grant for 
	   the purposes of studying what I have termed 'the freshness 
	   effect' caused by consuming Mentos brand candies.  Although there
	   seems to be no mind altering substances contained in Mentos, 
	   individuals suddenly become aroused, inventive, and lose all
	   regard for the norms of society a short time after using
	   them.  I've asked for $23,729.

    Item:  According to Jeffrey F. Brent ([email-masked]), Mentos
	   also come in Licorice or 'Lakrits' flavor.  Some Danish friends
	   apparently possessed these beauties, and (as far as I know)
	   the states have not been graced with them yet.  They had a 
	   white shell, and a black center.  A black wrapper shielded
	   them from the elements, and they [you guessed it] tasted
	   like Licorice.  Jeff also claims to be working on a Macintosh 
	   arcade style game called "Mentos(R) in the Hands of Torgo(TM)"
	   Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

    Item:  Flash!  There exists yet another Mentos flavor.  Andrea
	   ([email-masked]) found 'Tropical Mentos' while vacationing
	   in Jamaica.  The candies come in orange, lime green, and
	   lavender varieties, and taste like orange, guava, and something
	   indiscernible, she writes.  The packaging, like mixed fruit,
	   has a picture of the various colors found inside.  One last 
           interesting note: The ingredients were printed in Greek as 
	   well as English.

    Item:  Tim Verry ([email-masked]) has confessed interest in 
	   hammering out the details of 'the freshness defense' for criminal
	   acts committed while under the influence of Mentos.  Good Luck,
	   Tim.  [Say, isn't that a roll of Spearmint in that white bronco
	   over there?]

    Item:  The license plate number of the car in 'The Car Movers' is
	   'DH-L 64 12', and the teen that 'Evades Mom' does so by
	   donning a New York Yankees cap.

    Item:  Tyler K. Wong ([email-masked]) listens to Alex Bennett on
	   Live 105 (105.3 FM) in San Francisco from 6am to 10am, and
	   tells me that during his show, Mr. Bennett receives and reads
	   E-Mail on the air.  Tyler apparently came close to getting some
	   of this FAQ read on the air.  Live 105 isn't as fresh as some of
	   the other stations in the Bay area, however, because Tyler 
	   couldn't sell him, and Alex later answered a phone call he 
	   wanted to put on the air instead.  

    Item:  Mark ([email-masked]) asked recently if anyone had some
	   information leading to a Mentos T-shirt, baseball cap, or other
	   such merchandise.  I too, would be grateful for any leads.

    Item:  In a recent article in 'Advertising Age', Bruce Kasrel
	   ([email-masked]) read that Mentos advertising spending
	   rose 34% from last year, to 11.9 million.  Sales have increased
	   from $20 million in 1991 to about $40 million today.  We could
	   be in for some more Mentos enlightened teens solving the most
	   perplexing of situations in the near future.

    Item:  At the 'Steak and Shake' on Highway 52 here in Lafayette,
	   they have a candy machine that dispenses Mentos.  The flavor
	   was mixed fruit, although I know this from my own experience,
	   due to the fact that the dispenser simply read 'MENTOS'.  It 
	   charged 25 cents, and when I turned the crank I got 7 candies,
	   but your mileage may vary.  

    Item:  Mentomania is ever-expanding, proof of which can be found at
	   'SLOMOTION' meetings according to Michael V Arnold 
	   ([email-masked]).  'SLOMOTION' is a film club
	   in which the members have taken fancy to making their own
	   Mentos commercials.  They only have two so far, but I'm sure
	   that more are in the works.

    Item:  Finally, if you doubt the significance of this FAQ, just ask
	   Kevin Bourrillion ([email-masked]).  He thought it was
	   important enough to quote from it in his signature.  I was 
           so deeply touched, I just had to include his tribute.

<begin included file>
-- 
Kevin Bourrillion    "Although there seems to be no mind altering substances 
[email-masked]    contained in Mentos, individuals suddenly become aroused,
http://bradley.br    inventive, and lose all regard for the norms of society
adley.edu/~kevin/    a short time after using them."  -- Heath Doerr

<end included file>

Section 5:  Credits

     Originator, and maintainer of the Mentos FAQ:

	Heath Doerr ([email-masked])

     Submission credits:  

	Andrea ([email-masked])
	Michael V Arnold ([email-masked])
	Ron Bauerle ([email-masked])
	Kevin Bourrillion ([email-masked])
	Jeffrey F. Brent ([email-masked])
	Andy Brooks ([email-masked])
	David S. Cowen ([email-masked])
	Emily Cox ([email-masked])
	Figlet, the ASCII font creator.
	Todd A. Gibson ([email-masked])
	Steven Grimm ([email-masked])
	Joseph Hernandez ([email-masked])
	Dan Hoey ([email-masked])
	Alan Jaffray ([email-masked])
	Chad Jones ([email-masked])
	Bruce R. Kasrel ([email-masked])
	Timothy F. Kingwell ([email-masked])
	Richard N. Kitchen ([email-masked])
	James J. Lippard ([email-masked])
	Mark ([email-masked])
	Paulo A. Pereira ([email-masked])
	Jeff T.P. ([email-masked])
	Jan Setje-Eilers ([email-masked])
	Andrew R. Shulman ([email-masked])
	[email-masked]
	Genna Totten ([email-masked])
	Eric L. Tullis ([email-masked])
	Tyler K. Wong ([email-masked])
	Lupus Yonderboy ([email-masked])

 Note:  In a most unfresh editing accident, I lost one contribution credit.
	If you see something in here that you wrote, and you aren't
	listed above, please feel free to contact me so I can correct
	the situation.

Section 6:  History

     9/2/94: V0.01  (beta)
     9/6/94: V0.5 
     9/7/94: V0.9
    9/14/94: V1.0  (final)
    9/28/94: V1.1a (update)
    9/28/94: V1.1b (.html version)
    11/2/94: V2.0  (now even fresher!)

			 MENTOS: THE FRESHMAKER
-- 
  |~~~| Heath Doerr                     |   "My only regret in life is 
  |*  | Purdue University               |    that I did not drink more 
  |   | West Lafayette, IN              |    Champagne."
 <..=~  [email-masked]    |               - John Keynes