Mentos hands its '90s Freshmaker jingle to Gen Z creators — and wins at One Show

Mentos' 'Freshmaker' jingle, first aired in 1990, became a cultural phenomenon — parodied by Clueless, Entourage and the Foo Fighters. Thirty-five years later, the parents who remember it buy the mints, but Gen Z and Gen Alpha never grew up with the tune, and the brand sells in more than 160 countries.

Take the brand's iconic '90s jingle and rewrite it around Gen Z's awkward moments, sung by the creators they already follow, for TikTok instead of TV.

On April 1, 2025 the jingle relaunched across social, iHeart Radio and YouTube Music with versions from creators Adam Waheed, That's a Bad Idea and Aubrey Gavello, and more renditions followed through the summer from Carter Vail and Kyle Gordon. On May 1, Highdive's polished 'Re-Freshmaker' series landed: nine videos in which Carter Vail sings about texting an ex 'You up?', getting the ick from a weird spoon grip, and watching a steamy movie with your mom. SNL veteran Hannah Levy of Tool directed, and the films blended live performance with stock and AI-generated background images to stay fast and funny on vertical feeds.

Over three months the campaign delivered 39.9 million impressions — 166.8% of projected reach — and 7.2 million engagements, with organic engagement at 5.15% and a 4.7% lift in purchase intention. It won a Bronze Pencil at the One Show 2026 for Social Media: Craft/Use of Humor and was a finalist in the brand-awareness category at the 18th Shorty Awards.

The 'Freshmaker' jingle first aired in 1990 and became one of advertising's most famous earworms — so well known that Clueless, Entourage and the Foo Fighters all parodied it. Thirty-five years later, the parents who grew up singing it were buying the mints, but Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who discover brands through creators rather than television, had never met the tune.

Mentos (Perfetti Van Melle) treated the anniversary as a translation job, not a nostalgia replay. On April 1, 2025 the jingle relaunched across social, iHeart Radio and YouTube Music with new versions from creators Adam Waheed, That's a Bad Idea and Aubrey Gavello, and more renditions followed through the summer from Carter Vail and Kyle Gordon. On May 1, the polished 'Re-Freshmaker' series from Highdive landed: nine videos in which Vail sings about texting an ex 'You up?', getting the ick from a weird spoon grip, and watching a steamy movie with your mom.

Highdive kept the original melody intact and rewrote only the stories. SNL veteran Hannah Levy of Tool directed, and the films mixed live performance with stock and AI-generated background images to feel native to vertical social feeds. The creators acted as cultural translators, making the campaign land as entertainment first and advertising second.

Over three months the work produced 39.9 million impressions, 166.8% of projected reach, and 7.2 million engagements, with organic engagement at 5.15% — more than 60% above the benchmark — and a 4.7% lift in purchase intention. It won a Bronze Pencil at the One Show 2026 for Social Media: Craft/Use of Humor and was a finalist in the brand-awareness category at the 18th Shorty Awards.

It revived the asset instead of replacing it: the melody carried 35 years of recognition, so the brand's only job was translation, not invention.

It changed who owned the song: creators such as Carter Vail and Adam Waheed performed it in their own comedic voices, so the ad arrived as entertainment, not advertising.

It updated the moments, not just the music: texting an ex 'You up?', the ick and awkward movie nights made a 1990 jingle feel native to a 2025 feed.

It built for the platform: vertical videos made from live performance, stock and AI backgrounds were made for TikTok and audio streams, where Gen Z actually lives.

It measured resonance, not just reach: organic engagement at 5.15% and 7.2 million engagements showed the revival was being chosen, not forced.

A beloved old asset does not need replacing — hand it to the new audience: keep the melody, rewrite the lyrics around their moments, and let their creators sing it.

The campaign kept growing through the summer of 2025 as Carter Vail and Kyle Gordon released their own renditions. At the One Show 2026 it won a Bronze Pencil in Social Media: Craft/Use of Humor — one of three humor pencils Highdive collected that year — and was a finalist at the 18th Shorty Awards, with the brand reporting a 4.7% purchase-intention lift and mint sales growing faster than the category. The revival showed that a legacy asset does not expire: in the right creators' hands, a 35-year-old jingle can still reach the generation that never heard it on TV.