It’s a Sunday morning in 1994. You switch on the TV to watch Chandrakanta, and as is always the case, you are interrupted by an ad break.
Among the sea of the usual soap and cooking oil commercials, one, in particular, makes you squint at the TV screen in disbelief and amusement. You see three bald bright-orange men dressed all in black. They move in an uncanny, staccato manner and seem to be fixated on an orange soft drink.
If this jogs your memory, you are recollecting a part of Mirinda’s mid-90s campaign. The three outlandish orange men are in fact members of the famed Blue Man Group. Except for this time, the blue men are bright orange.
Mirinda and the Blue Man Group
The Spanish-origin orange soda Mirinda is a household name in India today, but not so much back three decades ago. The fizzy orange drink — a part of the PepsiCo family — hit the Indian markets in the early 90s along with Pepsi, Seven-Up and Mirinda. (Remember the “Leher” prefix with all of PepsiCo’s drinks? It was an attempt by the Indian government to “Indianise” the brand.)
To popularise the drink across the globe, including India, PepsiCo had to curate a global campaign that could cut across language and cultural barriers. This led to Mirinda’s legendary collaboration with the New York-based performance art company Blue Man Group.
The troupe formed in 1987 comprised three friends Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The group is known for its eccentric performance that combines music and art, exploring themes like science and consciousness.
The mute almost mime-like performance of the troupe helped viewers examine everyday life with a sense of novelty and wonder.
More importantly, the absence of language in the performances made them appeal to a wider audience, a factor that will help Pepsi in its collaborative campaign for Mirinda.
What’s in a colour?
The Blue Man Group was roped in by PepsiCo between 1994 and 1996 for its ‘The Taste is in Mirinda’ campaign. The intention was to drive the orange-flavoured version of the drink and distance itself from its multi-flavour positioning. (Mirinda is also available in different flavours like strawberry, apple and grape in certain countries).
The most strident way to do that was to paint the iconic blue men of the troupe in a bright orange colour of the brand.
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The ad films created for the campaign showed the Blue Man Group members competing with one another in sneaky ways for Mirinda. Each film ends with one of the three men triumphing and exclaiming “Mirindaaaa” with his mouth wide open.
The ads were also released in India in the mid-90s along with other markets such as Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Nigeria. Without a single word spoken, with just the animated expression and exaggerated movements of the performers, the brand was able to create a memorable campaign that transcended languages and cultures.
In fact, years later in markets like India, the ad campaign enjoys great recall among Gen X and the millennials. The bald, orange men came to be associated more with Mirinda than the group itself.