The Mentos FAQ V.5 (9/6/94 update)
 (c) 1994 Heath Doerr  doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu

         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
         Section 3: Credits*
         Section 4: 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 enducer, Mentos.  After
        administering a piece of the magic elixur 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 outstretched,
        like the mighty Excalibur, and although shortening it by 1/14,
        this weapon has not lost it's 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 on 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, signifing 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 near by 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, and over it's passenger.  The
        passenger is surprised, and later acknowledges the care free
        youths with an approving glance as he speeds away.

 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 bandana, 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:

        Thanks to Jan Setje-Eilers (jse@expert.cc.purdue.edu), the
        mystery of the Mentos commercial's 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, (incidently,
        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 understandabley confused.

        Note: the spots are run in English throughout the world.

 Jingle lyrics:

        'Doo doo doo, doo-doo, do-Wah!'

        It doesn't matter what comes, fresh goes better with 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!

        [This has not been confirmed.]

 Section 2:  The Candies

        The candies themselves come in four varieties.  'Mint', 'Mixed
        Fruit', 'Cinnamon', and 'Strawberry'.  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 white, that extends
        throughout the entire candy.  The fruit variety contains three
        colors, purple (grape), yellow (lemon), and orange (orange).
        Due to the fact I have never seen a Strawberry, or a Cinnamon
        variety, I cannot comment on their coloring.

       The mint flavor variety unsurprisingly taste like mint, 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.  Again, taste
       associated with the Strawberry and Cinnamon varieties is still a
       mystery to me.

        When chewed, the candies disintegrate into a gum like
        consistency, and if appropriate, 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.  Once again,
        I have never seen a Strawberry or a Cinnamon package.

        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 chalky, 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: ?

        Cinnemon: ?

        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


 Section 3:  Credits

      Originator, and maintainer of the Mentos FAQ:

         Heath Doerr (doerrhb@expert.cc.purdue.edu)

      Submission credits:

         Jan Setje-Eilers (jse@expert.cc.purdue.edu)
         Emily Cox (zebra@gorn.iuma.com)
         Andrew R. Shulman (andys@world.std.com)
         spatula@titan.ucs.umass.edu
         Richard N. Kitchen (da825@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)

      Well wishers:

         Andrea (apf62@cas.org)
         Dan A. Thompson (dant@austin.ibm.com)
         hsapiens@clark.net
         oluap@MIT.EDU
         Anthony M. Vervoor (falstaff@netcom.com)
         Kelly G. Willis (fpp@mace.cc.purdue.edu)
         Nelson Tang (tang@sd.inri.com)

      Cavilers, Carpers, Criticizers:

         Christina Nikas (nikas@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu)

 Section 4:  History

      9/2/94: V.01 (beta)
      9/6/94: V.5

                          MENTOS: THE FRESHMAKER