Certs

Certs is a breath mint (or, according to some, a candy mint) manufactured by Mondelēz International, long one of America’s most popular mints. Certs was the first breath/candy mint to be nationally marketed in the United States, and has been a fixture at American drug stores and convenience stores since its debut on the market in 1956.

Certs are classified as mints, but they actually contain no oils of any mint plant. Instead, as has long been advertised, the mints contain "Retsyn," a trademarked name for a mixture of copper gluconate, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and flavoring. It is the copper gluconate in Retsyn which gives Certs its signature green flecks.

Certs is not a true disk, but exhibits a pronounced bulge emerging from the edge, subsiding to form a depression at the center. Certs were not always this shape. Prior to the current form, they were more regular discs with beveled edges. Each Certs is counter embossed on one side with the legend "CERTS RETSYN" in letters about 3 mm tall, approximately midway between center and edge, each letter oriented away from the center.

Cadbury-Adams also manufactures Certs Powerful Mints, available in peppermint, spearmint and wintergreen. Certs Powerful Mints are small, Tic-Tac-like mints. They are described by the manufacturer as a "breath-freshening mint" rather than simply a "breath mint," one of the two descriptions used for standard Certs.

Cadbury-Adams also offers Certs Cool Mint Drops, described as a "breath drop." These medium sized oval-shaped mints are available in flavors named Cinnamint, Freshmint, and Peppermint. Certs Cool Mint Drops are packaged in slide top paper boxes and feature a liquid center which is claimed to be "intensely flavorful."

In the 1960s and 1970s, Certs was heavily advertised on American television with a famous campaign featuring two attractive young people earnestly arguing over the proper classification of the mints. The one participant would assert, "It’s a breath mint!" The other would assay a rebuttal by stating, "It’s a candy mint!" This taxonomic dilemma would finally be resolved by the unseen announcer, who would achieve synthesis by explaining that Certs was "Two, two, two mints in one!" Saturday Night Live lampooned the ads with a fictitious product called "Shimmer", with Gilda Radner's argument "It's a floor wax!" vs. Dan Aykroyd's "It's a dessert topping, you cow!" being resolved by announcer Chevy Chase's declaration that "New Shimmer's a floor wax and a dessert topping!". Indeed, the phrase "Two, two, two [insert almost any word or short phrase here] in one" remained an American idiomatic expression into the 21st Century.

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