Mets loaded with grapefruity goodness
Yep, that’s right. This Japanese soft drink blatantly rips off the New York Mets’ name, even using the same font!
The “Kirin Mets” line of soft drinks was innaugurated in 1979 when the Kirin Brewing Company decided that it needed to have a line of drinks to appeal to the younger generation of Japanese. They decided to name their drink after the “Tokyo Mets” – a fictional baseball team that was the focus of a manga series which was popular amoung the youth at that time.
And so the Mets line of drinks has continued up to the present day. The drink is basically a Japanese version of Fanta. Besides the flagship grapefruit flavor, it also comes in grape (purple can) and guarana (red can) flavors. All flavors contain 0% fruit juice, or if you prefer, 100% chemical goodness!
No sign so far of any lawsuit from the New York Mets or MLB, which is perhaps surprising given their normal draconian approach to protecting their trademarks throughout Asia.
Perhaps the best thing about Mets is this bizarre 1985 commercial starring 80s singer Sandy Stewart, who was never all that popular in America but was somewhat of a star in Japan at the time:
April 24th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Totally forgot about these…
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April 25th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
What is the point of the blue lightning bolt?? “Drink this beverage, and you can electrocute someone from all the way across the room!!!”
?
(Also, I’ve never fully understood “guarana.” Like, what is it? How is it pronounced? Is it similar to “taurine”??)
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April 27th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Whoa, when you said bizarre, you weren’t kidding.
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