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Mentos – You Up?

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Before memes were a thing and TikToks were just clock noises, the advertising world had jingles.. and they were glorious.

Ask any child of the 80s and 90s to remember the sound of their youth and you'd be fairly certain to get a handful of branded micro-tunes in response, with Mentos' Freshmaker earworm being one of the most memorable.

Taking the classic and giving it a cheeky Gen Z/Gen Alpha update, Highdive's latest campaign for the mint brand uses musician and influential creator Carter Vail's unique talents to comment on particularly 'now' problems, such as You Up?, which focuses on when you send an unsolicited text to an ex,  to The Ick, about a woman going on a date with the perfect guy, only to find out that he holds a spoon in a really weird way.

Directed with gusto by SNL veteran Hannah Levy of Tool, the social vids feature Vail's low-key performances backed by hilarious interjections and a curious combo of stock and AI-generated imagery.

"The Freshmaker is one of the most iconic jingles in history," comments Chad Broude, Co-Founder, Co-CCO of Highdive. "But we didn’t just bring it back, we brought it back with a twist. Instead of Mentos saving the day like it used to, now it doesn’t really help your problem. But hey, at least you have Mentos. A more honest approach that feels more appropriate and irreverent for the consumer today."

“The original Freshmaker series may not be on most younger people’s radar, but it feels like something that could exist on TikTok today,” adds Vail. “It was such a fun project to play with that heritage, and to update it to modern problems. People are going to love it.”

“Carter already has this well defined, hilarious aesthetic that felt like a natural fit for the original commercials,” says Levy. “It was so much fun to find the perfect balance of modern and 90’s for the campaign, and the result is something that’s new but immediately familiar.”

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