Introduced in the 1990s, Mentos’ “Freshmaker” jingle has been a familiar part of the brand’s identity. As a global legacy brand sold in more than 160 countries, Mentos did not need to reintroduce itself, but it did need to ensure its story continued to resonate with a new generation shaping culture.
The objective was to evolve how the Freshmaker story is told while preserving the brand’s core identity, humor, and heart. Rather than relying on nostalgia alone, Mentos aimed to keep the original melody and spirit intact and translate that through modern, social-first storytelling that felt relevant to Gen Z.
The campaign set out to:
Success was measured through reach, engagement, and efficiency across organic and paid social, with organic engagement serving as a key indicator that the brand’s message was resonating naturally rather than feeling like a forced revival.
Mentos brought back the iconic 90s Freshmaker jingle by blending its original charm with modern, creator-led storytelling. While the melody remained true to the original, the execution evolved to meet audiences where culture is formed today: through social-first content driven by humor, music, and personality. The strategy was grounded in the insight that Gen Z doesn’t experience brands through traditional advertising. Instead, they discover culture through the creators they trust, making influencer-led storytelling the most authentic way to evolve the Freshmaker narrative without changing its core.
We partnered with five comedy and music creators—Adam Waheed, That’s a Bad Idea (Cooper & Curry), Aubrey Gavello, Carter Vail, and Kyle Gordon—each selected for their ability to entertain Gen Z audiences at scale while maintaining a strong, authentic creative voice. Rather than asking creators to replicate an ad, they were encouraged to integrate the jingle naturally into their own comedic and musical formats.
Creators acted as cultural translators, helping Mentos show up as entertainment first, advertising second. Humor-forward storytelling, music-driven formats, and exaggerated visual moments allowed the content to cut through crowded feeds while maintaining the brand’s playful DNA.
Paid media amplified the strongest organic assets. This strategy allowed the campaign to scale efficiently while reinforcing the same creator-led narrative across TikTok and Instagram. Platform-specific optimizations ensured each channel played to its strengths, maximizing engagement and cost efficiency.
The primary challenge was balancing heritage with modern relevance. By keeping the original jingle at the center and trusting creators to tell the story in their own voices, Mentos successfully honored its roots while finding a new way to show up in culture.
The campaign exceeded performance benchmarks while reinforcing Mentos’ ability to evolve its storytelling without losing its identity.
Over three months, Mentos delivered 39.9 million total impressions, achieving 166.8% of projected reach. Organic performance was a key signal of cultural relevance, with a 5.15% organic engagement rate, more than 60% above Goat’s benchmark, indicating strong audience resonance.
Total engagements surpassed 7.2 million, delivering 130% above forecast. Paid media drove 34.9 million impressions, outperforming benchmarks by 8%, while paid engagement reached 19.87%, exceeding Goat’s U.S. benchmark.
Mentos’ mint business is growing faster than the overall mint category and achieved a +4.7% purchase intention lift, outperforming Kantar benchmarks. The campaign also drove a +3% lift in association with the brand’s “Refresh Your Everyday” attribute.
By preserving the heart of the Freshmaker jingle while evolving how it was told, Mentos demonstrated that staying relevant with a new generation isn’t about changing the brand, but about changing the delivery. By putting the story in the hands of creators Gen Z already trusts and follows, Mentos showed up where culture now lives: on social, through tastemakers, and in the content audiences choose to engage with.
