211. An Orange Avalanche from PepsiCo: MIRINDA, 1966-1967

DRINK FRESH M-M-M-MIRINDA ORANGE, 1967 campaign

Pepsi Cola’s fruit-flavored soda—MIRINDA—was launched in the mid 1960s in the Philippines and soon became a major player in the local softdrink market.

Originally produced in Spain in 1959, MIRINDA came in distinctive swirl bottles with a a bubbly green “M” emblazoned in front.

The name MIRINDA was said to have been derived from the pidgin language, Esperanto, which means, “wonderful”.

MIRINDA orange was the first flavor introduced, aimed at Royal Tru-Orange, then the market leader in the category. There were also cheaper price brands of orange sodas like Avenue and Ideal, but nothing beats the fizz and fruiter, orangier flavors of MIRINDA and Royal.

Supported fully with the massive marketing resources of Pepsico, MIRINDA made waves as it was positioned as a fun-flavored, thirst-quenching drink for teens and young adults.  

The product was pushed full-color lifestyle ad series, that captured the interest of the ‘60s Now Generation.

Though available in limited areas, MIRINDA was soon giving a Royal Tru-Orange a run for its money. The “More Fun” campaign lasted from 1966-61, and was replaced by “M-M-M-Mirinda” with the introduction of a short-lived flavor variant, MIRINDA Grape. This campaign ran until 1968.

MIRINDA 'BADMINTON' PRINT AD, 1966

MIRINDA 'BOWLING' PRINT AD,1966

MIRINDA TV advertising in the late 1960ss included the U.S. produced “Orange Avalanche” campaign that was used and aired in the Philippines.

MIRINDA ' FISHING' PRINT AD, 1966

MIRINDA 'SWING' PRINT AD,1966

In 1976, a head-on collision with market leader Royal Tru-Orange became national news when MIRINDA dared come out with an ad that claimed that nearly half of Royal Tru-Orange drinkers preferred the taste of MIRINDA in a blind taste test.

MIRINDA ORANGE, AND WITH NEW GRAPE FLAVOR, 1967

In a  time when comparative advertising wasn’t allowed (the mere mention of a competitor’s name in an ad was subject to strict regulation), MIRINDA’s move was considered unethical, and the claim insufficiently backed. The MIRINDA ad was banned, but Pepsico retaliated with a nationwide taste challenge to determine which tasted better— “Let your taste decide!”, was MIRINDA’s battlecry.

MIRINDA ORANGE & GRAPE THERMOMETER, 1967 STORE PREMIUM

MIRINDA now represents the majority of Mirinda sales worldwide following a major repositioning of the brand towards that flavor in the early 1990s. It is still being sold in the Philippines in PET bottles and cans, though not as briskly as before with the advent of similar juice drinks, twisters, flavored tea and powdered orange drinks. Recently, a MIRINDA Fun Mix powder drink was introduced in 2018.

A 1960 MIRINDA COOLER.